QR Music Review: Years & Years - Palo Santo
The synth-pop trio are back with sophomore album Palo Santo. Following on from their debut album Communion, released in 2015, this album takes a more theatrical and intense sound compared to the Top 40 pop sound of the first album. They have delved more into the themes of religion and spirituality, apparent in the song titles throughout the album including “Sanctify”, “Hallelujah”, “Karma”, “Preacher” and “Palo Santo” (which translates literally to ‘holy wood’). In a recent interview, lead singer Olly Alexander explained that Palo Santo is “a fictional place ruled by androids somewhere in the distant future”. When watching any of the music videos for the album, this obscure idea becomes strikingly obvious.
In the space of a few years, frontman Olly Alexander has not only grown in confidence and stage presence, but has also become a queer icon. The use of male pronouns as opposed to “she” used throughout is a welcome change in mainstream music and rightly so. The lead single, “Sanctify”, speaks of him making out with a guy who affirms that he is heterosexual. Olly’s desires to uncover the guy’s true feelings are aptly expressed through the lyrics, “You don’t have to be straight with me / I see what’s underneath your mask”.
Whilst the synth-pop sound of the album may give off a carefree vibe, it shouldn’t take away from the lyrics underneath it all. In 'Palo Santo', Alexander sings “I’ve been sleeping with ghosts and I swallow medication, you should know” to an ex-lover. Alexander has suffered from mental health issues such as depression and anxiety and has spoken openly about it. Furthermore, he has become a mental health advocate and in a recent interview he spoke openly about how he was bullied when he was younger, the need for young people to be able to talk about their mental health and how the government need to improve accessibility to mental health services in the UK.
Overall, the album gives off an electronic pop vibe mixed with R&B of the 80s and 90s eras respectively. The intro of 'Karma' gives a nod to Lauryn Hill’s 'Everything is Everything' which is inviting as opposed to throwing a generic EDM sound into a song that we have become accustomed to in pop music. Surprisingly, 'Up in Flames' was not released as a lead single or follow up single but merely added as a bonus track on the deluxe addition of the album. The track mixes 80s pop and electro pop synth sounds along with lyrics aimed at man who has left a heterosexual relationship to be with his lover, “You gotta be strong boy, you gotta be tough, don’t you know you’re my man? Anyone could have played ya, weakness won’t be a saviour”. Whilst this song encompasses everything that the new album stands for – freedom, desire, acceptance, breaking sexual taboos in our society – it is 'If You’re Over Me' that has catapulted high up into the charts and gained over 48 million streams on Spotify.
Years & Years have managed to produce yet another successful album into the mainstream charts. The difference this time round is that the issues covered within the album – mental health, homosexuality, desire, freedom – couldn’t be more prevalent in the media in 2018 and therefore make the band more relevant and relatable to many who may not have been fans of theirs before. Frontman Olly, a queer icon, has set himself apart from the rest of the band and has thrown himself into good causes which has assisted in the band’s positive image overall going forward.
By Louise Harvey