Available on: Friends Of Friends LP

Young Adults is a Los Angeles based imprint that has branched out from Friends Of Friends, a label which neatly fits within the parameters of L.A.’s Beat Scene but, clearly, has ambitions of its own. Adults, all told, is more intent on serving the dancefloor than the backpacker’s bedroom.

The four-track Young Adults 001 EP features five different acts, but it could very easily be the work of one artist. It’s all very pleasant in an appropriately summery fashion. The songs included here are decidedly more uptempo than most of the Friends Of Friends output, but most are still pretty languid in the grand scheme of things. Suzanne Kraft and Dead Rose Music Company share their love of echo chambers, offering up groovier downtempo reconstructions that rely on their sampled vocal lines on the A side. Kraft’s “Jus U” is the standout track: collapsing claps, a life-afirming guitar solo and an uplifting vocal sample coda are the order of the day. The B side features more uptempo contributions, such as the melancholy house number “Missing You” by Urulu. The last track arrives courtesy of LOL Boys & Grown Folk; ‘Ghostpath’ is an acid romp with a sensitive side (pitched-down goblin vocal bits aside).

The through-line here is a very easy-going sensibility. The reference points may feel familiar, but they’re curated sensitively and are animated by young, fresh voices.  It’s not entirely clear where this collective – or, indeed, the adjacent beat scene – is headed, but they’re certainly worth following.

Jonny Coleman