Life is hard as a twentysomething. After years of school and university education, we're thrust into the 'real world'. Hearts will be broken and dreams will be shattered as we fight for a place in a society suffering from an economic downturn. The hunt to 'find ourselves' is a terrifying and confusing journey. It's sink or swim.
Now we have something of an anthem in the downbeat new single from London Grammar, Wasting My Young Years, even if its focus is actually the shattering realisation that a relationship is going nowhere. The evocative title sums up a tumult of feeling.
The nostalgia-soaked piano and Hannah Reid's ethereal vocals are a stunning combination, speckled with synths and guitars, whilst the insistent drums of the chorus create a throbbing sense of urgency. Alongside Metal and Dust and Hey Now, the London trio are establishing themselves as the go to act for spectral melancholia that haunts long after the music stops.
Just smile through the tears.
4/5
Listen: Wasting My Young Years is released on June 16th.
Watch: London Grammar will be touring in October.
