The Naked And Famous are a pure indie, pop quintet from Auckland, New Zealand. I am so excited they are breaking into the US with their summer gem ‘Young Blood’ after it went No.1 on the NZ Top 40. The Naked And Famous began with Alisa Xayalith and Thom Powers recording tracks in their home studio and after two beautifully concocted EPs the full live band was complete in 2009 with the addition of Aaron Short, David Beadle and Jesse Wood. Next up this month they are appearing with The Temper Trap and ‘Young Blood’ will be released on September 6th via Neon Gold 7” vinyl.

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The Naked And Famous – Young Blood

The Naked And Famous have perfected their style thanks to affected guitars, synths, drums and Thom and Alisa’s smooth, sweet vocals. ‘Young Blood’ especially has a very distinct Passion Pit sound…that unique energy that comes through the bass and guitars and makes you feel fresh and rejuvenated-like you are game for anything. Passion Pit was and still is an instant love of mine so it is no wonder I am a fan (Neon Gold is too, duh) of The Naked And Famous. In my mind Passion Pit coined a new genre by creating something enchanting and euphoric, aka beautifully manipulated guitar sounds. ‘Young Blood’ is filled with some of those original sounds Passion Pit introduced and yet is something completely unique. The guitars rally back and forth with the bass and drum beats while Alisa’s effortless vocals wrap it all into one wistful anthem.

“We are only young and naive still.”

So I may have just turned another year older, but this song is my summer jam right now. You are only young once and you gotta live it up. This song makes me reminisce about those simply carefree summer days when I had nothing to worry about; school was out and I was free. Free for bonfires, movies and pool parties. The last day of school before summer vacation was the best…that was day you signed yearbooks. You had your best friend save you a whole page to yourself and you almost always filled it with the past years’ memories and inside jokes. My favorite part was when I would hand my yearbook to that September-June school girl crush of mine and wait in anticipation to see what he wrote. Ahhh, yes…the good old days.

The video for ‘Young Blood’ is perfection and I can’t seem to watch it enough. Each shot is genius the way it bottles up emotion in a four second clip. The video is a mirror of the song; all about being young and free. It is taking that summer road trip with friends heading nowhere and doing whatever you please on the way. What I wouldn’t give for a week of innocent, childlike fun where my only thought is right here, right now. I can’t believe it is already August; where is this summer going? I still have time though…who’s with me?

Posted by: Kim

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