Gold & Youth release their new LP, Dream Baby, via Paper Bag Records. Are dreams the stuff of liberation, of beauty and freedom and life and future? Or are they a dose of painkiller that enables normalcy, a carrot perpetually dangling on a miles-long stick? This is the anxious central tension of Dream Baby...

Dream pop fans are in for a treat with Vancouver’s Gold & Youth's second album. Dream Baby. The album contains 10 (53 min, 10 sec) upbeat tracks of dream pop heaven. There's a very strong '80s pop vibe that permeates the LP. It's positive, powerful and thoroughly engaging.

As the tracks fly by I was reminded of so many acts of the '80s. 'The Worse the Better' could so easily be an OMD track, 'Dying in LA' is stylistically a little Simple Minds and '90s Night' is Pet Shop Boys-esque.

It's almost impossible not to enjoy this rich and varied album. Those who love '80s music will get a huge kick out of what Gold & Youth deliver here.

8

Nick Smithson