Skip to content
Spotlight

Young Galaxy

Who? Former Stars touring guitarist Stephen Ramsay teamed up with girlfriend Catherine McCandless to form a new group that shines just as bright. Young Galaxy’s expansive set contains uplifting and philosophical musings in between echoing washes of synths for a lush, spacey dream-pop sound. The duo recruited members of the Dears, the Besnard Lakes, as well as Ramsay’s former traveling act to appear on their self-titled debut, out on Arts & Crafts this week.

What’s the Deal? The Montreal-based project is like a blend of Luna and Pink Floyd, filling their disc with atmospheric and spiritual indie rock. Album opener “Swing Your Heartache” is a searching epic about breaking hearts and taking risks, while “Outside the City” is a hard-driving track that is reminiscent of labelmates Broken Social Scene. “Life’s not a rehearsal,” they remind listeners in the former, a sentiment that is one of the disc’s many universal truths.

Fun Fact: While visiting his relatives in Ontario, 12-year-old Stephen Ramsay was offered the part of “Wheels”, a hard-luck protagonist of the pioneering children’s series Degrassi Junior High, for his mother’s cousin Yan Moore was the show’s creator. His parents turned it down despite his protests, because they didn’t want him moving across the country. GINNY YANG

Now Hear This: Young Galaxy – “Outside the City” DOWNLOAD MP3

On the Web: Young Galaxy at MySpace

Talk: Would you want to catch these shooting stars?