Since the release of their last album, San Francisco shoegazers Young Prisms have undergone two significant changes. The most basic is the arrival of new guitarist and vocalist, Ashley Thomas. The other? Their sound. Here are two choice quotes from Larry Fitzmaurice's take on last year's Friends For Now: "It seems the band forgot that while you're making music, it's a good idea to have some hooks," and, "just the fact that you need a Google search to tell that more than one person sings in Young Prisms is the reddest of red flags." Lacking hooks and vocal distinction is not a problem for In Between, but in the case of the former, those that fill the void don't do so with any particular aplomb.
So while they're still shoegazing, there's a bigger emphasis on catchiness and clarity; there's an easy comparison to be made between In Between and the music of Mazzy Star. That's largely because the fuzz clears the way to showcase Stefanie Hodapp's somewhat Hope Sandoval-ian vocals, apparent on album opener "Floating in Blue". That said, this album doesn't put the Mazzy Star-level of focus on the vocalists-- even while it's a huge step up in clarity, the real star here is the wistful haziness in the album's cold jangle. There are some noteworthy exceptions-- "Gone", by contrast, has a legitimately sunny riff leading it off, immediately followed by Gio Betteo's clear voice. It's a revelation for this band, sounding beachy and joyous.
While Young Prisms are no longer smothered by fuzz, that doesn't mean they're any more assertive. Most of these songs on In Between are so unassuming they're hard to remember minutes after they're over. (The band's proximity to Youth Lagoon in iTunes doesn't help-- Trevor Powers is killing the "assertively quiet" game right now.) Even when a song decides to stick in your brain, it's usually for the wrong reasons-- there are a handful of examples where their newfound catchiness keeps churning for a bit too long. "Dead Flowers" has a limber riff and a pleasant chorus, but it's four minutes long when it could easily be two.
That's not to say every time the band plots out a four-minute song, they end up repeating themselves. "Better Days" is a fine example of being repetitive (and threatening to outstay its welcome), but it has enough varying elements and quietly elegant guitar work to stay interesting for the full song. While the track's slight warble and gentle vocals mimic the album's overall tone, the small varying elements and changes in texture keep it from falling into the trap of sameness. And there are some moments that completely shine-- "To Touch You" is an example of using the slow burn to your advantage, opening with a slow, assertive guitar strum and springboarding into a sweeping synth. It's also a testament to their way with guitar layering, giving an otherwise quiet song some much-needed underlying texture.
The best compliment to be thrown at In Between is that it's the most essential step the band has taken to date at defining a sound. Yes, there are well-trod lyrics like "she's always on my mind" and song titles like "Dead Flowers" and "To Touch You", but it's easy to get the sense that the intent is to let the jangling shoegaze wash over you, and if some of the lyrics stick, that's fine. But that's the thing-- they rarely do, and neither do several of the songs.
