I found myself in Kilburn on Sunday night, enjoying the local park and pubs while waiting for the Richard Youngs gig at The Luminaire. Richard performed a “greatest hits” set followed by a full performance of the newly reissued Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits, which Richard called the “ultra hits” set.  Beyond the Valley of Ultrahits is ostensibly a Richard Youngs pop album, with gorgeous melodies and sing along choruses. Richard even makes attempts at soliciting crowd participation but unfortunately, with a few exceptions, most are too shy to sing along. Regardless, the music is awesome and Richard’s voice is as beautiful as ever.

The set ends all too soon, leaving us hungry for more but Richard simply replies there are only ten ultra hits. That may be true but there is still plenty of Richard Youngs goodness available at Volcanic Tongue.