LIVING HISTORY (CREAM VINYL) | VINYL RECORD (LP)

Later Youth, "What's next?" is a question that used to frustrate Jo Dudderidge, but after ten glorious, reckless years of living day-to-day, gig-to-gig, album-to-album with The Travelling Band, he realised one day that no one was asking anymore. That it coincided with his struggle to adapt to his move from Manchester to London, alongside a string of health problems in his family, added to his sense of vulnerability. "I felt rudderless" he recalls. Later Youth emerged, not only as an alter ego, but in recognition of what came before and also as a half-joking mantra; a reminder to keep enjoying the thrill of self-expression that comes with writing. Debut album Living History is the culmination of what has been both a cathartic and a celebratory process. It's a bold statement with a distinctive character. Sure, parallels with his previous work exist, but it occupies a unique universe of it's own, sonically centred on Dudderidge's signature Wurlitzer electric piano and unmistakable voice, blending raw, heart-on-sleeve lyricism with a fresh, idiosyncratic style veering from krautrock to alt-country. There are songs about nights that turned into mornings, heartaches rescued by a harem of Venezuelans, romanticising the myths of past loves, facing mortality, running away from yourself while dreaming of reconciling with the love of your life. It's nostalgic, but not in a way that wants to go back - more like holding something up to the light to understand it better.