Young Galaxy formed in Vancouver, Canada, as duo including Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless. Through that summer of 2005 and the spring of 2006 they recorded with appearances and contributions of friends at Jace Lasek’s Breakglass Studio. Their sound has been described as similar to the bands Slowdive, Galaxie 500 and Luna as well as Pink Floyd and Spiritualized. The band has toured in Canada, The United States and Europe, opening for Arcade Fire, The Album Leaf, The Frames, Peter, Bjorn and John, Stars and Death Cab For Cutie. They later moved to Montreal, where they recorded their self-titled debut. The album was released on April 24, 2007.
They recorded their second album Invisible Republic in Montreal at Hotel2Tango studio with Radwan Moumneh engineering (A Silver Mt. Zion, Pas Chic Chic) and at Breakglass Studios with Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes engineering. Invisible Republic was released independently on August 25, 2009 through Fontana North. It was mixed by Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Snow Patrol) in Glasgow, Scotland. It was subsequently released in July 2010 in the U.S.A. by Paper Bag Records, and received a long list nomination for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.
The band followed up in fall 2010 with YG No Art EP, an EP comprising unreleased tracks and remixes from the Invisible Republic sessions.
Their third album, Shapeshifting, was recorded in Montreal, Canada, and was produced by Dan Lissvik of the band Studio in Gothenburg, Sweden. The band communicated with Lissvik via Skype over the nine months he spent mixing the recorded vocals.
The album, released in February 2011 on Paper Bag Records, has been described as a massive change in creative direction, eschewing their former shoegaze, dream-pop style for a more electronic pop sound. Stephen Ramsay describes the change in song composition method, "instead of picking up a guitar and finding the most brilliant melody we could, we tried to erase the shape of the songs."
Discography:
Swing Your Heartache (2006, EP)
Young Galaxy (2007)
Invisible Republic (2009)
YG No Art EP (2010)
Shapeshifting (2011)
Ultramarine (2013)
Wailing Wall
Young Galaxy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
empty the bottle
mourn the loss
devotion no matter what the cost
called it praying
when you speak
part of something
bigger than me
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
called it praying
when you speak
part of something
bigger than me
empty the bottle
mourn the loss
devotion no matter what the cost
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
dialed your number
you blocked my call
your back is my wailing wall
your back is my wailing wall
your back is my wailing wall
your back is my wailing wall
your back is my wailing wall
The lyrics of Young Galaxy’s song, “Wailing Wall,” express a deep feeling of loss and longing for someone who has blocked the singer’s calls. The repetition of the line “dialed your number, you blocked my call” drives home the sense of rejection and pain the singer feels. However, the next line “your back is my wailing wall” introduces a complex and interesting metaphor. The wailing wall is a traditional site of Jewish mourning, where people go to lament the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. By saying that someone’s back is their wailing wall, the singer is suggesting that this person has become their source of mourning and grief. Perhaps, they are someone who the singer relied on or who they had a deep connection to, who has now shut them out completely.
The lyrics also touch on themes of devotion and faith, specifically with the line “called it praying when you speak, part of something bigger than me.” This suggests that the person who the singer is mourning had a spiritual significance to them, and that their absence has left a hole in their belief system. Overall, the lyrics of “Wailing Wall” are a poignant and evocative representation of the power of loss and the complex ways in which we mourn those we have lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Wail
Let out a distressing cry
dialed your number
Attempted to contact you through calling
you blocked my call
You denied my attempt to reach out to you
your back is my wailing wall
You are the only one I can turn to for support and comfort
empty the bottle
Drink excessively to drown sorrow
mourn the loss
Grieve the absence of a person or thing
devotion no matter what the cost
I am committed to you regardless of the sacrifices required
called it praying
Described communication with you as a religious act
when you speak
When you express yourself to me
part of something
Connected to a greater entity
bigger than me
Above and beyond my individual existence
Contributed by Mackenzie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
chaoslynn
Thank you for uploading this. Wish I was there.