Aberfeldy

Crimes against humanity are typically the province of guys like Hitler, Saddam and men who wear tassled loafers. But music critics? When an album of dazzling pop sophistication -- one that actually alters brain chemistry to produce instant joy -- goes unacclaimed, who's to blame for all the suicides, murders, crack overdoses and train robberies that could have been prevented if more people had only listened? Of anyone, witless critics are most culpable for the sordid fact that this Edinburgh band's debut album, Young Forever, has gone almost completely unnoticed since its August 2004 release. So why is the Pitch -- as guilty as the rest -- suddenly declaring Young Forever the best thing to come out of Scotland since, uh, scotch? Because we got a firsthand taste of the intoxicating folk-pop of Aberfeldy when the quintet performed a last-minute show at Molloy Brothers on March 24. The crowd was made up mostly of loudmouthed lawyers hanging out after a mixer, rudely blabbering over lead singer Riley Briggs' warbling tenor and nearly drowning out the pert glockenspiels, fiddles and backing vocals of Ruth Barrie and Sarah McFadyen. We were about to kick some litigious ass that night. But fortunately, Aberfeldy enjoyed itself in spite of the crowd's boorishness, and now we lucky few have all the more reason to let this album keep us young a little while longer.