Album Review: Anthony Green - 'Young Legs'

‘Young Legs’ initiates with the cyclical piano chords and ever-present momentous feeling of ‘Breaker’. An opening statement and initial observation of sound reveals this is Green perhaps channeling elements of his primary project, Circa Survive, and The Dear Hunter. The song is just the beginning of an album which drifts a little closer to Green’s band work and a little further from his often folk-enveloped solo work.

The new exploits include ‘Anytime’, a track which verges on upbeat and features quirky background guitar lines, and ‘You Have to Believe It Will Happen’, a dreamy track that begins with only simple piano and a digital beat before building to the full band (Green enlisted Good Old War as his backing). It is a fresh offering from Green, yet it is still not too far from home.

Title track, ‘Young Legs’ is basically a spacious, slow to moderate, rock song with a strong piano presence and the addition of strings. The song ascertains that ‘Young Legs’ as an album provides a slightly different Anthony Green, but emphasises that the shift is in no way a risky and sketchy one but, rather, a positive one.

The added prominence of piano comes through mostly in the softer tracks such as ‘100 Steps’ and ‘I’ll Miss You’, which is almost a piano ballad. ‘When You Sang to Me’ begins fairly soft also, with piano being a crucial part of the mix, while retaining a certain vivaciousness through both the softer moments and the musical crescendos.

Despite new developments, the familiar is still present in all of the songs, but is stronger in more folky tracks like the acoustic ‘Too Little Too Late’, the short-lived ‘Stolen’, and ‘Conversation Piece’. Essentially, 'Young Legs' can be viewed as a bit of the old and new.

'Young Legs' is a slight musical exploration for Anthony Green with the familiar still in check. It reflects the virtuosity of his creative output and is an interesting step ahead that is likely to be well-received.

1. Breaker

2. Young Legs

3. 100 Steps

4. Too Little, Too Late

5. When You Sang to Me

6. Anytime

7. I'll Miss You

8. Stolen

9. Conversation Piece

10. Shine

11. You Have to Believe It Will Happen