We stumbled across Jake Hays' project, Maudlin Strangers, a couple months back when we found his gem of a track, "Overdose", and since, we've been waiting impatiently for his next release. Well, it's finally come, and it's come in the form of yet another beautifully crafted piece of indie-rock that mixes together all sorts of great sounds and textures. The vocals are relatively lo-fi, and the little bits of organ that pop up here and there give the track a vaguely Danger Mouse-esque feel, but the real cherry on the track is the chorus and its low, angry buzz of a distorted bassline. It makes "Stay Young" sound like something you might expect if you put Sir Sly in a blender with Broken Bells and pulsed it up for a couple seconds, and if that doesn't sound like something entirely incredible, we don't what would. We were a huge fan of Maudlin's project the first time around, so it's cool to see that Jake has more material of the same caliber up his sleeves. Artistically, this track is a bit different from the last; it's a bit darker, and has a few more rough edges to it, but that's just the kind of variety we like to see with new acts, and he's done a great job making sure he's still adhering to the distinct sound that he crafted with "Overdose" and "Penny". It's absolutely critical that he fosters this individuality in the early stages of the project to ensure he builds a good foundation for his future, and as far as were concerned, he's doing an awesome job of making that happen.

Written by Hillydilly Staff