Lindsay Lohan is young and still sort of sexy. Zac Efron is young and ridiculously sexy. Vancouver baroque-poppers Young and Sexy aren’t really like their namesake, despite the attempts of a ravenous press to make them seem like it.
Before Young and Sexy existed as a band, vocalist Lucy Brain and singer/guitarist Paul Pittman were in a relationship. They’ve been broken up for almost 12 years now, yet Pittman says that it’s one of the most frequently asked questions by the press, much to the group’s chagrin.
“People tend to focus on our past relationship because of the culture we’re living in,” sighs Pittman. “People are interested in that kind of tabloid headline, which is unfortunate. It does get a little bit boring to answer that question, because we’ve been answering that question since day one.”
With a recent shake-up in the band’s line-up, the group’s dynamics have significantly changed from their early days. Together for the last four years, there’s been a more collaborative approach to the act. With a tighter sound and a hint of morosity, the group is finding its sea legs in the wide independent music ocean.
“The new line-up has been together for four years now,” he says. “In the last band, I would bring a song to the band and everybody would add their part. It was a bit more simplistic. Now I bring a song to the band and we work together. There’s more interplay between the band this time around.”
Young and Sexy’s latest album The Arc alternates between moments of pop lightness and a bleak melancholy. The interplay between these diametrically opposed elements is not always found in pop music, but Pittman explains that it’s the by-product of everyone in the band wanting to find something.
“We’re just trying to explore different avenues and find something that interests us,” he explains. “There’s a lot of songs that start off more traditionally poppy. It’s not that we’re trying to be depressed, but we want to find something that interests us. If it’s depressing sounding or poppy sounding, that’s great.”
With The Arc in record stores now, the band is excited to get out on the road. They have a show at North By Northeast under their belt and the next stop in their summer touring season will be in Calgary for Sled Island. Pittman suggests that, more than anything, they’re always looking to play a show to promote their album and the band itself.
“We’re so excited to play Sled Island,” says Pittman. “It’s going to be such a great lineup and we’re totally excited to play with Chad VanGaalen. It doesn’t get any better than that.”
With the band playing at the Telus Science Centre, there is one primal concern that some of the more beer-soaked patrons might have-what is the beer situation? Pittman knows these worries all too well.
“I told my sister who lives in Calgary that we were playing at the science centre,” laughs Pittman. “She said, ‘You’re playing there? Is there going to be beer?’ Her son in the background, says, ‘I don’t think there’s going to be beer there, ma!’ But I think there’ll be beer there, so it’s going to be okay.”
“It’s all ages,” interjects Brain from the background.
“It’s all ages?” asks Pittman. “Oh. Maybe there won’t be beer then.”
Young and Sexy open for Chad VanGaalen at the Telus Science Centre on Thur., June 26 at 9 p.m.