Years & Years: Night Call review – Olly Alexander hits the dancefloor

(Polydor)
The actor-frontman returns as a solo act with 14 sweat-soaked bangers

Much has changed for electropop practitioners Years & Years since 2018’s Palo Santo album. Not only are they two members lighter – it’s now a solo vehicle for occasional actor Olly Alexander (It’s a Sin) – but that second album’s convoluted conceptual framework has been shaken off in favour of 14 sweat-soaked bangers that focus on pent-up carnal desires.

“Give me it now,” Alexander purrs on the undulating Intimacy, a classy tale of lust that suggests a hotel was involved (“tie me to a four-poster,” he requests). The pulsating Crave and the cheeky Muscle (“don’t want to leave without your body”) drag the listener on to sticky nightclub floors. Sex is also explored on 20 Minutes, with its urgent need for pleasure after months of isolation played out over a keening, surprisingly delicate melody.

All that transience throws up its own problems, however, with Sweet Talker – a disappointingly lightweight slither of dance-pop playlist catnip – mourning a lack of honesty. Alexander is better channelling any introspection into songs that reflect the morning after, with late album highlight Make It Out Alive giving Night Call a narrative arc via a post-big-night-out soother.

Watch the video for Years & Years’ Crave.

Contributor

Michael Cragg

The GuardianTramp

Related Content

Article image
Years & Years: Palo Santo review – let’s talk about sex
The electro-pop trio’s second album is in love with the 90s sound of Britney, but it’s singer Olly Alexander’s private life that’s front and centre

Kitty Empire

08, Jul, 2018 @8:00 AM

Article image
Years & Years review – a charming work in progress
BBC award-winners Years & Years hit the road with big choruses and Olly Alexander’s one-man charm offensive

Killian Fox

01, Mar, 2015 @8:30 AM

Article image
Olly Alexander: Dizzy review – it’s a sinful ripoff from the UK’s Eurovision entry
You could easily believe the prosaic Dizzy to be the work of AI: what if the Pet Shop Boys did Eurovision?

Laura Snapes

01, Mar, 2024 @10:50 AM

Article image
Olly Alexander on hope, hedonism and hook-ups: ‘If you’re honest, you don’t have anything to hide’
He conquered the charts with Years & Years, then won acclaim for his extraordinary performance in It’s a Sin. As he returns to pop – on his own – he reflects on what he’s learned

Rebecca Nicholson

08, Jan, 2022 @8:00 AM

Article image
Years & Years review – sensational sermons from pop's diamante priest
Led by Olly Alexander’s dazzling theatrics, the synthpop trio take the timeless theme of dancefloor heartbreak and make it thrillingly modern

Graeme Virtue

29, Nov, 2018 @11:30 AM

Article image
Years & Years review – synthpop cherubs stick to the script
At times this intimate gig feels like a giant test tube incubating a pop phenomenon, writes Dave Simpson

Dave Simpson

01, Mar, 2015 @3:55 PM

Article image
Years & Years: Communion review – pastel chords and obvious key changes
It’s fine swapping authenticity for state-of-the-art pop but the band need to still that bleating heart…

Kitty Empire

12, Jul, 2015 @8:00 AM

Article image
Olly Alexander: ‘Success is overwhelming. People talk to you differently’
The Years & Years frontman on fame, therapy and how Disneyland inspired him

Tom Lamont

07, Apr, 2018 @8:00 AM

Article image
Mabel: About Last Night… review – tears and cheers on the dancefloor
(Polydor)
Telling the story of a night out from carefree beginning to heartbreak close, the singer’s second album is a heady mix of house, synthpop and disco-tinged bangers

Michael Cragg

16, Jul, 2022 @1:00 PM

Article image
Years & Years: Palo Santo review – sex, sin and electropop salvation
London-based trio’s nimble new album expands their ambitions in adrenaline-filled songs of heartbreak smothered with self-destruction

Laura Snapes

05, Jul, 2018 @11:00 AM