Loft

Some bands respond better to spontaneity than others, and more than four decades after their first album, the Young Fresh Fellows have been learning a lot about making things up as they go. The genesis of 2020s Toxic Youth came when their longtime production ally Conrad Uno announced he was closing his studio in Seattle, and the YFF booked the rooms last three days and came up with 17 songs, mostly invented on the spot. 2026s Loft pushes this concept even further; during a rare 2024 tour of the Midwest and East Coast, the YFF were invited to spend a day at the Loft, Wilcos studio and rehearsal space in Chicago, and they took full advantage of the opportunity. Though they had only a few fragments of songs ready for the occasion, they cut enough basic tracks in a mere eight hours that guitarist and singer Scott McCaughey, guitarist Kurt Bloch, bassist Jim Sangster, and drummer John Perrin were able to stitch together a full-length album, though McCaughey did add some overdubs and additional material at his Dungeon of Horror studio in Portland, Oregon. Given the circumstances of its creation, Loft sounds like an inspired fusion of "first thought, best thought" and savvy use of the post-production process. With the Lofts outsize collection of instruments at their disposal, the YFF didnt hesitate to add horns, keyboards, violins, and oddball percussion to the mix, and Loft often sounds more like one of McCaugheys more exotic Minus 5 productions than the more straightforward attack of the YFF. Like the Minus 5, McCaughey has also brought in lots of friends and admirers to fill out the performances, as Neko Case takes lead vocals on "Destination" (and sounds like shes having a ball), Morgan Fisher of McCaugheys beloved Mott the Hoople adds some keyboards, Camper Van Beethoven veteran Jonathan Segel busts out his fiddle, McCaugheys famous friend Peter Buck stops by with his 12-string guitar, Steve Berlin of Los Lobos adds baritone sax on "Whispering Hole," and Wilco bassist John Stirratt chimes in with some backing vocals. Loft also delivers some high-concept touches, as McCaugheys hours of binging Turner Classic Movies inspired him to add the wobbly sounding "Introduction" and brief "Entracte" to the sequence, while closing with "Exit Music/The Theme," a pensive meditation on past, present, and future. Loft doesnt always sound like quite like the Young Fresh Fellows as one might remember them from the 1980s, but it certainly sounds like peak Scott McCaughey, with slightly bent but thoroughly enjoyable melodies, lyrics that ponder big themes with wit and regular-guy wisdom, a willingness to try almost anything (with most of it working just swell), and a few doses of bracing rock & roll to keep things lively. Which is to say Loft is the work of some outstanding musicians doing what they love and surprising us a little as they share their joy, and the world will always need music like that. ~ Mark Deming