Dominant Legs: Between Youth And Death

courtesy of the artist

Dominant Legs' "Young at Love and Life" captures the feelings associated with adolescent heartbreak while maintaining a more adult perspective.

When a band is named Dominant Legs, it's hard to know what to expect. For all its moniker's implications of sultriness and danger, the San Francisco-based duo of Ryan Lynch (guitarist for Girls) and Hannah Hunt has an adorably dreamy synth-pop sound, with lots of reverb and plenty of room to dance. What's wonderful about them is that while their sound is big, it's not overwhelming: The pair's sweet vocal harmonies are both understated and unpretentious.

The cute, catchy title track from Dominant Legs' debut EP, "Young at Love and Life" is youthful-sounding and endearing, without seeming childish or trifling. In a charmingly shaky voice, Lynch captures the feelings associated with adolescent heartbreak — "I was beside myself / Yet I was in good health / As long as there was you and I" — while maintaining a more adult perspective. He may be overcome by teenage infatuation, but he's still grown-up enough to recognize the weaknesses and immaturity inherent in youth. In the end, Dominant Legs looks at that awkward time in youth when falling in love is both easy and scary, and makes it seem delightful, even if you're still in the midst of it.