YOUNGEST SON are a three-piece band based in Brighton and currently building momentum with their deep, brooding brand of alternative rock. James (vocals and guitar) and Jim (drums) talk to JULES PESTANO about dark aesthetics, Morrissey and taking over the Green Door Store for an upcoming gig.

How did Youngest Son start?

Jim: The band is only around 10 months old in its current form. After my previous band broke up, James and I formed Youngest Son in the summer of 2014. We spent a lot of time writing and refining a brand new sound and we went through a number of bassists. Our previous bassist dropped out right before a big show and Fred was there to pick things up. He learnt our set in just over a day and we’ve been together ever since. It took a while to find the right chemistry between people on both a musical and personal level.

How has being based in Brighton affected your career?

Jim: Myself and James moved here from the North where our local scene was struggling. We heard about Brighton being the cultural hub of the UK and we went for it. There’s great venues to play and great bands to bill with. At the same time, we went from being a big fish in a small pond to being in bigger waters, with bigger fish around you.

I think it’s been healthy for us though. You see someone sweating more than you are, putting more work and more time into their craft, and then you want to out-sweat them.

Your vocalist has a very distinctive deep voice. Does that in any way shape the musical direction of the band?

Jim: I think so. I think the baritone puts you in a little sub-genre of baritone rock. I think a baritone voice can completely change the sincerity of any music. The Editors wouldn’t feel the same without the voice of Tom Smith. The same with Morrissey; It’s a storytelling voice.

From what I see from photos and artwork and hear in your sound you seem to have quite a dark aesthetic. Would you agree, and if so, why?

James: The sound was always leaning toward a darker area. I have a tendency to write songs engaging with the more morose side of life. For some, this is the opposite of what they want to hear on a record, but for others I believe it stands out. They relate to the lyrics.

What are your favourite topics to write about?

James: As mentioned previously, it’s drawn from the more morose side of things. The expression of genuine emotion is missed sorely in today’s music – too many artists hide behind the trivial side of their brain. It’s sad but this tends to sell more records. Being widely relatable to an overcrowded youth market makes money, and with money brings mass exposure and all the rest, but this has never been the point of Youngest Son.

I wondered what your favourite gig in Brighton has been?

James: One of the top shows we’ve played was our video launch for our single Internal Debate. We hosted a launch party at the Green Door Store – a venue that we had wanted to play for a while. Instead of waiting for a promoter to come along and put us on a bill, we just hired the place out ourselves and ran the show. We got to pick a bill of our favourite Brighton acts and theme a moody, melancholic evening. We really stepped up our game to prepare for it and we keep it as an important milestone. The video itself has had a great impact. It’s currently got over 50,000 hits since its release.

You have a debut EP due out early next year – how is that coming along?

Jim: We’ll be releasing another single in the new year to prelude the record. We find that people these days often don’t have the attention span for a full album of a band they don’t know. We’re watching people make a lot of headway by dropping singles. We’re getting people excited and trying to turn some important heads. It will be coming out in the first half of 2017.