Young Statues

iTunes Review

“I don’t want you, but I don’t want you to go away,” sings Carmen Cirignano in ”Bumble Bee,” one of numerous lovelorn anthems on Young Statues’ self-titled debut. Emotional ambivalence seems to be the specialty of this New Jersey indie rock combo, filtered through a musical sensibility that suggests Death Cab for Cutie crossed with Fleet Foxes. Chiming guitars and splashy drums punctuate the tangled longings and nagging regrets of “Losing a Friend,” “Spacism,” “Athens,” and similar tracks. Cirignano’s vocals have a sincere, almost innocent ring, lifted out of melancholy by the rising thrust of his band’s melody lines. Tunes like “Young Statues” and “Pretty Girls Make Raves” convey optimism beyond their lyrics, thanks to bright vocal harmonies and propulsive arrangements. While most of the tracks here are crisply rendered power pop, Young Statues get more atmospheric on “Meet Me at the Hudson” and “We Trusted Everything Enough,” which layer vocals and instruments into an expansive, echo-bathed whole.