+/- (Plus/Minus) – “Young Once” (Stereogum Premiere)

+/- (Plus/Minus) – “Young Once” (Stereogum Premiere)

Here’s a name I haven’t heard in ages: +/-, or Plus/Minus for those of us whose brains shut down when trying to read mathematical symbols. Indeed, the indie-rock veterans haven’t been doing much; the forthcoming Jumping The Tracks is their first album in more than five years not counting the 2010 rarities comp Pulled Punches. Like so many former road warriors of the early aughts underground, the band has aged into its day-jobs-and-families stage, but it’s a good thing that stage has yielded another album rather than perpetual home studio tinkering because we’re all better with lead single and opening track “Young Once” in this world. There are so many little elements to this song, yet it still feels greater than the sum of its parts. Atop the incessant swirl of harmonic feedback, melodic percussion, and rolling toms, a spindly guitar arpeggio weaves with layered vocals, casting a melancholy mood and conjuring a sound as big as the sky. Your day will be better off if you listen to it below.

Jumping The Tracks is out 2/4/14 on TeenBeat. Explains the label, “All pre-orders will come with an exclusive 11″ x 17″ poster and all copies will arrive on transparent orange crush vinyl. Eight new songs on the vinyl and four more come with the included download card for a total of 12 new songs.”

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