This song has some serious attitude. The unique feel to it makes more sense after a glimpse at the band and their concept.
A collective based in Brooklyn, Young Magic claims to be from the world. Whether that means members hail from all corners, a spiritual connection with all of earth, or worldly influences within their music is up for interpretation. The latter is a definite possibility as “You With Air” seems to blend multiple types of genres and cultures into one fun and colorful track.
The single from the recently released Melt LP is best viewed as numerous songs which just happen to be playing simultaneously. The heavily distorted female voice crying out the repetitive chorus could be produced by either gender, created by an animal, taken as gospel or pop and — without knowledge of the title — it is very difficult to interpret. The male vocalist, however, is much closer to spoken word or rap throughout the majority of the song. The video game style melody somehow gels well with the electric guitar on top of it. Then add the percussion, which perhaps is what brings the strongest foreign sentiment. Some earlier versions of the song even feature prominent, antiquated-sounding drums, definitely not of U.S. origin.
The samples are plentiful throughout “You With Air” and children seem to enjoy it as well, as a few can be heard playing in the background of the song. Or maybe that’s bar chatter. Or crowd noise on a studio recording? This band is heavily influenced and has some fun ideas, all of which seem directed toward a broad sense of culture and community. A Young Magic show would conceivably play out like a big house party.