Although Nanaimo has spawned successful recording artists like jazz superstar Diana Krall and blues-rock guitar hero David Gogo, you'd be hard-pressed to name many rock bands that have risen to fame from the Van Isle city. When Young Galaxy's Stephen Ramsay was growing up there, though, it didn't matter so much to him that the rock scene wasn't booming. He'd just score all the inspiring sounds he needed at a specialty record store called Fascinating Rhythm.

"It could get me just about any kind of music I wanted," recalls Ramsay, on the line from Phoenix, Arizona. "At the time I was really getting into music, like at 15 years old, I would go and spend all my expendable income on records at this place. They had kind of a whole cross section of things: vinyl, old imports, new stuff from England."

Ramsay's favourite group at the time was the Smiths, and although the dreamy pop that Young Galaxy specializes in isn't overtly reminiscent of the British alt-rock icons, he figures there's an underlying influence. "People might be hard-pressed to find out where it is," he relates, "but I try to play guitar in that kind of languid style that Johnny Marr did. And we also wanted the lyrics to mean something to people, because I think at the time, when I was listening to the Smiths, I felt like Morrissey's lyrics spoke directly to me."

Ramsay cofounded Young Galaxy with long-time girlfriend Catherine McCandless, who shares vocals and cowrote half of the songs on the band's self-titled debut. The duo fronts a six-piece group, now based in Montreal, which was signed by fast-rising Toronto indie label Arts&Crafts. "They're known for having acts of a particular kind," says Ramsay, "but I think we bring something a little more introspective, a little more philosophical in nature than some of their other acts. What's come out on that label in the past has been very immediate, on an art-rock level."

Young Galaxy 's thought-provoking cover art depicts a moonlit, watery highway heading straight toward distant mountains. Designed to look like a worn but treasured LP sleeve, it's the sort of thing you'd expect to come across while sifting through '70s prog-rock albums at a flea market. "I liked the idea of the worn album cover," says Ramsay. "I had that in my head for a long time, due to the fact that I collected a lot of vinyl, and my parents collected a lot of vinyl. I wanted it to have a warm '70s feeling, and whether it flowed into the music or not, I'm not sure. People have mentioned Pink Floyd a couple of times, which I take as a great compliment, 'cause I consider them to be a timeless band."

Young Galaxy plays the Media Club on Tuesday (June 12).