Album Review: Years & Years - 'Night Call'

Mikey Goldsworthy and Emre Turkmen exited the outfit last year, with Years & Years now functioning as an Olly Alexander solo project. Night Call marks the first album of pure Olly, and best believe it’s full of polished radio-ready pop hits.

Taking years to craft and develop, Alexander wrote nearly 20 songs for the record before deciding to scrap nearly all of them and start from scratch. The result sees the singer on the cover as a merman siren, which reflects the sexual charge of the electronic-heavy album.

What made Years & Years stand out back in 2015 with ‘King’ was the electronic soul built into Olly’s captivating voice and charismatic personality. Arguably, Night Call lacks a certain element of that soul, despite the booming, catchy choruses throughout. Not to dull his sparkle with negative energy, Alexander is still undeniably king of pop in his own right. Breaking into the mainstream charts as an unapologetic queer person isn't easily done, so respect for talent and tenacity has been earned.

Potentially attempting to mimic the success of Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia, the album brings back ‘80s dance pop with no apologies. Sparkling synths, heavy beats and silky vocals bring tracks like ‘Sooner Or Later’ and chart hit ‘Starstruck’ to life, but it’s the broodiness of ‘Crave’ and ‘Immaculate’ where Alexander truly shines.

Galantis collaboration ‘Sweet Talker’ and ‘A Second To Midnight’ (featuring Olly fan Kylie Minogue) sees the impact of queer dance anthems on the singer/actor. Overall, the glittery project is a proud statement of fun independence from the actor and vocalist.

“It’s all pretty pumping,” the 31-year-old Yorkshire native assessed of Years & Years’ third album. It's an accurate statement; you'll be hitting the dancefloor when Night Call plays - by choice or by force.

Rating: 8/10
Listen: ‘Crave’

Stream Night Call (Polydor) below: