Review Summary: An indie-folk-pop journey through the mind of one of today's most under appreciated talents.
The album title is silly...The music is not.
Jesse Valenzuela is without a doubt best known for being the rhythm guitarist for alterna-pop band the Gin Blossoms. He was the hit-making hit writer behind heaving-hitting hits (bleh!) like "Follow You Down" and "Til I Hear It From You (to be fair, Marshal Crenshaw helped with that one), and has contributed some great vocals (mostly background) to the band over the years.
2002's Tunes Young People Will Enjoy is Valenzuela's first solo album. The album is an indie-flavored mix of pop and folk, with the occasional Spanish influence thrown in. This album at least met, if not surpassed, the expectations I had formed when I first learned he had done a solo album.
There's more than three good songs on here, but "Damaged Goods", "Spark", and "Lucky Stars" would be one's main motive to purchase this album. "Damaged Goods" has a similar rhythm to "Til I Hear It From You" but is much quieter and slowed down, with an even arguably stronger chorus. The other two are atmospheric pop masterpieces that sound like they could have come straight from a movie.
My main complain is that there weren't more slow songs like "Damaged Goods" and "Lucky Stars" on this album, as slow is what he's good at because it matches his soft voice. Of course, even the faster songs don't get too heavy, as the album as a whole is quite relaxed. In fact, give Iron & Wine a nice clean shave and electric guitars and this is basically what you'd have. Speaking of Iron & Wine, Young People REEKS of indie (in a good way). As someone who used to dj for a college radio station, this is the kind of stuff I used to hear all day.
If you're a hardcore Gin Blossoms fan, you should get this. Or, if you're just someone who likes good music, you also should get this.
