Change. It’s the central conflict and inspiration for Chicago indie rock band Young Jesus’ first full-length album, Home. Encompassing a wide variety of sounds—from the airy acoustic, folk beginning of “News” to the gritty, ‘90s garage rock of “The Greater Boulders” — Young Jesus’ musical diversity accentuates singer/guitarist John Rossiter’s impressive narrative thread.

The opening track, “Family and Friends,” embraces the listener with the gentle tempo of its acoustic guitar, but frantically builds to an aggressive and energetic climax. The singing rapidly transitions from sultry and soulful to frenzied and passionate in a matter of seconds. Rossiter employs a similar tactic in the album’s most sonically impressive track, “News,” which begins like a campfire sing-a-long. However, with Arcade Fire-like intensity, the song transforms into elegant discord with its visceral screaming backed by its upbeat guitar riff and constant crash of cymbals.

The most interesting aspect of the album is its major character, David, who makes appearances in four of the 11 tracks. His introduction comes in “David,” a hauntingly beautiful ballad about his dreams, love and innocence lost at the hands of a woman named Eloise.

“Away” provides the turning point in the story arc, and speaks to the delusions of idealistic memories. Calling to mind a Holden Caulfield-like fear of change, the surreal and complex track draws from its vivid imagery of a grotesque realization of “memory lane.”

David makes his triumphant return in three of the last five tracks, and Rossiter blurs the uncertain line between him and his character. In the final track, “Home,” he croons, “I am David. I am David/ I am Eloise, I am jaded!” It’s a fantastic story that comes full circle, drawing a sharp contrast between the first and last tracks—“Family and Friends” and “Home.”

Places and people may change, which is the root of the anxieties apparent in Young Jesus’ lyrics. David represents fears, vices and the person Rossiter doesn’t want to become—“half-Cain, half-Abel,” as he puts it in “David.”

However, family and friends—true friends—stay the same, and, in turn, anchor him. Rossiter, in “Home,” optimistically concludes, “I am happy, I am sound/ I’ve got my family and my friends.”

Purchase the digital version of Home at Young Jesus’ Bandcamp.

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YOUNG JESUS
6:30 p.m. Saturday, February 25.
Subterranean, 2011 W. North Ave.
All Ages. $10.
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