Some things have to be broken down before they can be
built back up. For Young Ones the seed was planted after
the implosion of a band called The Rad that recorded and
toured the country trapped in an uncreative, business-
focused groupthink. After returning home to East Texas
permanently following The Rad's final west coast tour,
Brian Braquet abandoned business and found honesty in his
bedroom with an acoustic guitar, writing the soundtrack to
his life. He ditched quick hooks and easy one-liners for a
stream of consciousness that at times is so simple and direct
that it's almost painful to hear.
For Brian music is therapy and as he stripped away the
dishonest parts of his songwriting his songs stripped away
the dishonest parts of his life. So This Is Love is just as much
a debut EP for Young Ones as it is a map through the dark
places that Brian's uncertain future led him to, a guide
through things he had to tackle alone: alcohol abuse,
relationship issues, new jobs and finding purpose in life
when there were no guarantees that he would ever again
be able to play music professionally. At the end of that road
all that was left was Brian, a sense of purpose and the six
songs that would make So This Is Love.
Entering the studio in late 2011 with the help of producers
Trevor Tull and John Eric, Brian and his newly-formed
band crafted those six ideas into a raw, emotional account
of the past two years of his life. Elevated by musical tastes
and technical chops of Chris Unger, Michael Pugh, Russel
Polvado and Eric Meeks, So This Is Love listens like a love
letter to the late 90's emo bands that inspired Young Ones
to make music in the first place. It references a time when
the balance of raw emotion and studio perfection was
obvious and bands were rewarded for laying their hearts
on stage instead of their hair.