When Young Antiques unveiled “I Think You’ll Never,” the lead single from their upcoming new album Another Risk of the Heart, it felt like a revelation. The band’s first release in nearly a decade, the song is undeniably steeped in the scruffy intensity that marked the group’s glory years. But even as the trio’s power-pop hooks continue to ring with ragged clarity, their songwriting seems sharper, more poignant, and sophisticated.

Long hiatuses tend to either diminish or embolden a band. And Young Antiques certainly seem to fit among the latter with the group returning in perhaps its most potent form. While Another Risk of the Heart sees singer-guitarist Blake Rainey once again teaming up with bassist Blake Parris, the record also signals the return of drummer John Speaks (formerly of Skirt, and the Jody Grind), who last played with the group on 2004’s Clockworker. Together, the threesome appear to have rekindled the fire and urgency that made them so formidable in their heyday.

“Playing with John again, we were able to tap into that original magic we had in the past,” Rainey notes in the group’s press release. “Though this time around everybody was a bit more seasoned and comfortable playing together.”

You can feel that sense of ease and maturity come to the forefront on new single “Armies in the Alley.” More measured and moody than the typical Antiques barnburner, the song is led by Rainey’s soulful vocals, which are in turn driven forward by Speaks’ propulsive drumming. Featuring poet and musician Tom Cheshire (West End Motel, All Night Drug Prowling Wolves) as both narrator and a backup vocalist, the song moves in a series of slow-rolling crests that break with surprising force. On the one hand, it’s a gorgeous and moving track, filled with the sort of close-your-eyes hooks that sound best when you let them wash over you. But pay just the slightest bit of attention and you’ll notice that beneath those majestic grooves lies a post-apocalyptic tale mired in social and political unrest.

If this sounds like an odd pairing of style and subject, you’re probably right. Mixing barroom balladry with noirish sci-fi storytelling is an iffy proposition at best. But as they say: nothing ventured, nothing gained. Leave it to Young Antiques to only pull it off, but to make it sound so damn riveting.

Listen below.

Another Risk of the Heart is out tomorrow. In addition to Cheshire, the album features guest spots from Chris Lopez (The Rock*A*Teens, Tenement Halls) and Kelly Hogan (The Decemberists, Neko Case, Rock*A*Teens). Pre-orders are available here.

More Info
Web: youngantiques.com
Bandcamp: youngantiques.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @youngantiquesmusic
Instagram: @youngantiques
Twitter: @youngantiques