Album Review: Collarbones Die Young

Travis Cook and Marcus Whale must hold an intrinsic connection to the human mind and what makes it move. How else do they create soundscapes so captivating and aligned with the emotions of day-to-day existence? Collarbones' second record Die Young is a stirring listen cover to cover, the album housing mysterious sounds that feel somewhat spooky without ever coming across as scary or intimidating.

Like a positive drone, opener Hypothermia takes the vocals of Ivan Vizintin and wraps them around a hissing drum beat that gives an edge to the otherwise dream-like sounds bouncing within the song. Vizintin's tone recalls British 2-step of the Millennium turn, while the record's other main vocalist, Melbourne musician Oscar Vicente Slorach-Thorn – he of textured pop duo Oscar + Martin – lays a bit more syrup down on tracks like Cocooned and One Day, the latter juxtaposing his voice against a pulsing, low key synth line to glorious effect. Strong song foundations allow Collarbones to be as creative as they please on the top section of the songs, a balance that works fluidly across the whole record. Missing is another real standout, with the sparse drumming and glitchy synths making you feel like you're floating through orbit. Teenage Dream, meanwhile, could have slotted nicely on last year's SBTRKT record, with the atmospherics holding that same echoed goodness that the British producer employed to devastating effect with his self-titled debut.

If you feel like walking the streets alone late at night, then Die Young houses the jams for you. For a couple of young blokes from Melbourne, these are some seriously accomplished tunes right here. Set your heads to nod.