The Young International to release album

“I really think we’re onto something,” begins the chorus of “Ruckus,” THE YOUNG INTERNATIONAL’s first single from their self-titled debut, due out February 1, 2011, whose lyrics are quite visionary in a lot of ways. While some bands come at you like a bull towards a matador, The Young International’s music hits you from left field and catches you by surprise.

“These songs are about life from start to finish,” says vocalist/guitarist Kaleb Jones. “They are snapshots, moments and feelings that we really saw or felt at one time. We will always make honest music because that’s the only way we know how.”

Fortunately for these four upstarts from Nashville, the music that they create is immediately embraceable and inherently magnetic, yet intriguingly layered and hard to place. Co-produced by Grammy winner Mitch Dane (Jars of Clay) and drummer Thomas Doeve (Andrew Belle, Amy Stroup, Trent Dabbs), and mixed by Vance Powell (The Dead Weather, The Raconteurs, Secret Machines) (also a Grammy winner), The Young International captures the work of a young band on the verge of greatness and bottled it with the help of a great team behind the boards.

“Working with Mitch and Vance is amazing,” says Kaleb. “You can tell they have such a good understanding of music and how to capture it in the best way possible. Mitch is a zen master in the studio. He has this calmness about him that keeps you focused rather than nervous or stressed.”

The chiming levity of “Gravity” recalls the Britpop stylings from London and Manchester yet centers itself firmly in the organic pop rock of Americana, like an inspired mash-up of Manic Street Preachers with Guster. The strings intro of the epic “Shadowboxing” ebbs and flows while Kaleb’s vocals weave in and out effortlessly, creating a cathartic crescendo that hints that their sights are set on big stadiums, in which The Young International’s music would sound perfect.

“Ruckus” only reinforces that potential, a song so big and robust that it betrays the fact that, while the band may be only on their debut EP, The Young International is in it for the long haul.

“The hook of ‘Ruckus’ started off as a tongue-in-cheek jab at pop songs themselves,” says Kaleb. “Throughout the process of writing, it morphed its way into more of an anthem about following your heart no matter what.”

Best friends since college, they spent over five years honing their craft both musically and professionally, preparing for the release of this EP.

“We took our time with this album,” he continues. “We wanted to present the best songs we could to introduce ourselves to the world. We went through about 15 songs for this five song EP. We think we chose the best ones.”

The clairvoyance of the lyrics “I think we’re onto something,” seems to be reciprocal. Call it a hunch, but that “something” Kaleb is singing about seems to get bigger and bigger each time you hit play on their EP. Big indeed.

The Young International will be released independently in a partnership with FrameworkNY (He Is We) and will be released on February 1, 2011. The Young International is Kaleb Jones (vocals/guitar), Chase Gregory (lead Guitar), David Deaton (bass) and Thomas Doeve (drums/programming).

www.theyoungintl.com
www.facebook.com/theyoungintl
www.myspace.com/theyoungintl
www.twitter.com/theyoungintl