Effective period / Period of releases: 2015 - 2017

Members: Alex Braden, Colin Kelly (7), Dan Gleason, Joey Bentley

Young Rapids are an experimental psych/art-pop band hailing from Washington DC. The four-piece broke onto the scene in 2012 with the release of their debut album Day Light Savings, which earned local praise from NPR and The Washington City Paper, as well as from Brightest Young Things and The Vinyl District, all praising the band for their keen ability to change genres and moods whilst delivering a deluge of epic-poetic vocals and intricate instrumentals. Young Rapids nearly called it quits last year, but after an inspiring sold out performance at the 9:30 Club in DC they began writing together again. On "Melt," the first single to be released from the new LP, Pretty Ugly, lead vocalist Dan Gleason evokes the somber reflections of Beach House's Victoria Legrand, as well as the dejected howls of the Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser. Premiering through SPIN, the "layered and lush" single "constantly diverts to new forks in the road" (SPIN) with "a heavy dose of Magical Mystery Tour era Beatles and Soft Bulletin era Flaming Lips" (The Deli Magazine). The band's next offering, a whimsical track called "What R U Saying," premiered through Indie Shuffle. The track's long-form, unconventional structure alternates between sparse, delicate arrangements and full on walls of sound, featuring whirling electro reeds, softly humming synths, and bright grand piano. "As the puzzle slowly pieces itself together, something really beautiful emerges out of the unconventional structure," Indie Shuffle writes.