Young Other’s “Enlightenment” Album – A Journey Through Music

Being involved in the music industry for the past few years, I have become a believer that one of the biggest accomplishments a band can achieve is releasing a full-length album. There are so many bands that are doing the music thing out of love, not as a career.  Putting together a full album is time-consuming, expensive, and takes a team effort,  Well, this is just what Massachusetts rock band Young Other did recently. This album is a little different, however.  Enlightenment is a compilation of the band’s work over the last six years, and this 13-track album shows a progression and maturation in Young Other’s sound throughout their musical journey.

Young Other hails from Worcester, Massachusetts.  Band members include:  Dale Belliveau (Vocals, Lyricist); Kyle Shays (Drums); and Brandon Hursey (Guitar).  Dale and Brandon created Young Other in 2015 after both of their high school bands ended at the same time. They spent the first three years discovering their sound, performing local shows, and writing music with a mix of past band members from their previous projects, until meeting Kyle in 2018. They released their professionally-recorded debut EP, Between The Few, in 2019, shortly after Kyle stepped away from the band.  He would later return in 2023.

I would be remiss if I did not mention how I found Young Other.  My dear friend, Cindy, is close with the band and a huge fan as well, of course. When she first told me about them, I checked them out and was intrigued with their style.  Not only are they excellent musically, but they are very professional and super nice young men, as well as very humble. They do everything the right way and have earned a loyal and growing fan base.  With the release of the compilation album, I thought this was a  perfect time to tell their story.

The band’s name, Young Other, stands for the idea that when you lose someone young in your life, every time you think about them, their appearance has never changed from that youthful state. Dale lost one of his best friends and bandmates in 2013 to suicide, and Young Other is his tribute to his friend Tylar, keeping him alive through music and carrying the dream on with him.

The songwriting approach for Young Other comes from many different angles. Sometimes Dale will have a melody in his mind that he will sing out and they'll write around it instrumentally. Other times, Brandon will write a guitar riff, structure, or entire song and pitch the idea over to Dale to start writing lyrics. Both Kyle and Brandon work production ideas into the song as it's being developed as well. The entire Enlightenment album was mixed and mastered, and most of the songs were produced, by their friend Chris Piquette of No Boundaries Studios in Rhode Island.

Young Other is a band that stands out because of their unique style. The musical elements – guitar and drums – are pure and clean. As songwriters, this band is very talented.  Dale’s vocals are passionate and expressive -- he pours his heart and soul into everything he sings.  I usually don’t compare bands to each other, but if you asked me what bands Young Other reminds me of, I honestly would say, in my opinion, Train and 3 Doors Down.  I recently told Daile this, and it surprised him at first, but then he thought about it and understood where I was coming from.

As for the topics of Young Other’s songs, they mostly come from life experiences.  The inspiration for the lyrics stems from a lot of their own lives, experiences they've lived through, as well as a slight bit of their faith mixed in metaphorically for the listener’s own interpretation. Overlooking their released discography, there is a generalized sense of sad, but hopeful. The main idea is that there is always a light even when things are at their darkest.

I’m including three videos in this review, and I asked the band to tell me about them -- “Change Everything”, "Beacon", and "Forgiveness".

The band shared that these are the final three videos completing the vague story the band was telling within the whole Enlightenment album. “Change Everything” picks up where “Cabin Fever” left off, and shows bridging from the dark to the light as Dale walks through the door into the white room with the white apparel on. The gold vest that Dale puts on at the end of the video represents accepting the path of purity and willingness to fight for what is right.

This visual message carries into what “Beacon” stands for as a whole, the willingness to fight against the dark, to be a voice of Light and Truth, and accepting the call.

The video for “Forgiveness” is made up of locations from the videos for “Between The Few”, “Wherever You Will Go”, “Leave It Behind”, and “Cabin Fever”. The song is about recognizing the wrong path that someone may have gone down in life, but how freeing forgiveness is. This can be either receiving forgiveness for mistakes and wrongdoings of our own past, or forgiving others who may have done wrong to us and letting go of those burdens. Forgiveness closes that story of these past six years of our lives as we enter whatever unimaginable journey lies ahead of us.

Earlier this year, Young Other did a run of some weekend shows with Lacey Sturm. Guitarist Steven DiPietro of the band Whispers Of Andromeda filled in. The band had a great time meeting so many people and playing some songs they had never played before.  After opening for Escape The Fate in Buffalo May 11th, the band has a show with Lansdowne, Anaria, and Red Crown Saturday, May 24th at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. Finally, Young Other will be joining Lacey Sturm once again, along with Islander, on tour in June and July.

The band plans on getting back to writing music following the tour with Lacey Sturm.

I asked the band if they would like to add anything in conclusion. ““We would like to give a few special shout outs to our crew members that have made so much happen for us not only this year, but in years past. Kevin for helping us drive, handle gear, and making sure we're safe on the road. Tyler Maillet for capturing the best shots and moments of each of our shows over the past five years and acting as a tour manager at times. Our boy Nate Robichaud of NRAV Media for all of his hard work with our past live streams, show recap videos, music videos, and other miscellaneous media content.”

You can follow Young Other on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

WRITTEN BY: Annie Schlottman PHOTO CREDIT: Tyler Malliet