The day glows warmly. It’s sunny, but the woods cause the sunlight to create dull shadows even at midday. There’s a lonely cabin near a creek. During the winter months, the chimney pumps out smoke from the fireplace, but it’s not winter yet, so all is silent. The air is cool, a breeze causes the trees to sigh. The cabin is hollow, cavernous even, without furniture or many walls. In the middle of the room are instruments and amps and sheets of music, all carelessly piled atop one another. This is the hypothetical space where Colorado Youth conceived their debut album, Only Instinct.
This is a cohesive folk album, but it often feels like more than that. One of my favorite tracks is “Fare You Well,” a soft four minute melody. Other tracks are louder, with fuller swells of guitars and brusque vocals, but still others are stripped down and acoustic. Listen closely and you may even catch a banjo. Only Instinct’s opening track, “Tricks,” sets the tone with a slow-burning intro, a choral refrain, and eventually a taste of the true form that Colorado Youth exhibits. Powerful vocals demand to know, “is it just my mind playing tricks on me?” We’re being had, you and me both.
Only Instinct is out now. For more information, visit Colorado Youth on Facebook.
The Music Court 
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