TonyDoug's CD Reviews

by tonydoug wright

The Band: Anita Robinson and Kevin Robinson

The History: Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is the third full-length album from Viva Voce, a band currently residing in Portland, OR.

The Review: As a reviewer of CDs, I have certain pet peeves about what artists do in the way of sound, album art, album titles, song titles, etc. Anything from a ridiculously pretentious band bio full of name-dropping and questionable Hendrix comparisons (see Spiv) to a promo CD filled with over-hyped press from Spin or Rolling Stone (see Living Things) will not impress me, but it will prepare me for a colossal letdown. Viva Voce is guilty of violating two of my pet peeves with their newest album Get Yr Blood Sucked Out.

The first pet peeve is the old bait and switch trick of portraying yourself as a certain sound/style by using cover art or an album title that is not reflective of the true sound/style. As you’ve read, the title of Viva Voce’s album is Get Yr Blood Sucked Out. When I first read the title, I expected something comparable to The Misfits or The Cramps, but I was wrong. This album is what I could call a fuzzy indie-pop can of mixed nuts that taste like 70s stoner rock. Anita and Kevin Robinson are sweet rather than menacing in their vocal styles and that’s not what you should expect from a band that wants to suck out your blood. The second pet peeve involves misleading the listener with cool song titles. Track number seven of Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is titled ‘We Do Not Fuck Around’. Instead of delivering an explosive gem like The Pixies ‘Rock Music’, this song is a piano driven effort that sounds like a bad demo recorded by Juliana Hatfield and Evan Dando. Where’s the attitude? Where’s the anger?

Viva Voce does find time to impress the listener on Get Yr Blood Sucked Out with tracks like ‘Helicopter’ and ‘From The Devil Himself’. I’m going to put my pet peeves aside and give some “props” to Kevin and Anita Robinson because they have a good foundation based on distortion pedal principles and 70s rock influences. Certain songs have a nice My Bloody Valentine feel, while another song has a psychedelic Pink Floyd influence. Viva Voce has the talent, but the imagery for Get Yr Blood Sucked Out is not reflective of their indie material.

Website: http:// www.vivavoce.com

Conner, Hello Graphic Missile (Sonic Boom)

The Band: James Duft, Tom Wagner, Phil Bonahoom, and Bryce Boley

The History: Conner hails from Lawrence, Kansas.

The Review: I was sent a promo copy of Hello Graphic Missile and included was the following statement from the label: “In today’s musical cookie cutter world, Conner somehow pull of a sound that feels both uniquely cutting edge and classically familiar.” I’m not sure who put this Conner press release together, but maybe you should not call the current music scene “cookie cutter” when the band you’re writing about is heavily influenced by mainstream indie rock.

Is this album uniquely cutting edge? No. Is this album classically familiar? Yes, because it instantly draws comparisons to the likes of The Strokes and Franz Ferdinand. Conner’s Hello Graphic Missile suffers from filler quantity than quality tracks, but the good tracks are fantastic efforts. ‘Eyed Eyes Eye’ and ‘She Tells No Lies’ are raw guitar rockers that are sadly outnumbered by cookie cutter material.

Website: www.sonicboomrecordings.com

Ghost Stories, Quixoticism (Sonic Boom)

The Artist: Ron Lewis

The History: Quixoticism is the debut album from Ghost Stories.

The Review: In my lifetime, I have never heard the word “quixoticism” used in a sentence. My spell checker does not recognize the word and an online dictionary does not recognize it either. Who knows, maybe ghost Stories was looking for some creative language points.

Another hat is tossed into the ring of “psych pop” and this one comes from Ron Lewis, a one-man act better known as Ghost Stories. Quixoticism is a DIY effort that features all the usual suspects for an album of this nature: acoustic guitars, electronic beats, an occasional chorus of “bomp-dah-duh’s”, and a sensitive singer-songwriter. Quixoticism is not a copycat effort, but instead, it’s a respectable pop album that may draw comparisons to fellow label mates, Death Cab For Cutie. ‘The Upper Ten/The Lower Five’ and ‘Secret Life of the Union Part II” are definitely the strongest tracks on Quixoticism, which is an impressive debut.

Website: www.sonicboomrecordings.com

The Coral Sea, Volcano And Heart (Hidden Agenda Records)

The Band: Rey Villalobos, Duncan Wright, James Garza, and Matthew Talmage

The History: The Coral Sea is a California band. Songs from Volcano and Heart have been featured in Grey’s Anatomy and Standoff.

The Review: I would like to take this opportunity to take a jab at Grey’s Anatomy for being one of the worst television shows of all time. For some reason, people are in love with this third rate Ally Mcbeal. Remember: my views are my own and do not reflect the viewpoints of The Coral Sea.

This Santa Barbara, CA band does not have a poppy sunny west coast sound or the pretentious LA-based rock vibe; instead they have the dreamy atmospheric pop sounds of UK artists such as Radiohead and Coldplay. Volcano And Heart moves like an emotional fog across a desolate landscape, and tracks like ‘Your Time Has Come’ and ‘In This Moment’s Time’ creeps in and out with grace and beauty. Rey Villalbos’ vocals are soothing messages of comfort while the listener is engulfed by a wave of psychedelic art-rock. The Coral Sea has delivered a fine album and hopefully it is the beginning of a fantastic career.

Website: www.thecoralsea.net

Ellie Come Home, Primary Sources (Emergency Umbrella)

The Band: Seth Ashley, Maura Dunst, Jennifer Johanning, Matt Range, and Joey Hook.

The History: This five-piece band hails from Columbia, MO and Primary Sources is their debut LP from Emergency Umbrella Records.

The Review: For the love of God, please come home, Ellie. You left town with that carnie from Iowa and now we are left with faded photographs and a stack of really bad Italian jazz records. Ellie, don’t do this to us, because paw-paw is sick and Uncle Frankie is going to sell the grocery store.

It’s definitely been a fill-in-the-blank pop week for this reviewer. Indie pop and psych pop was one thing, but Ellie Come Home takes the orchestral pop route and successfully delivers a cool debut. Primary Sources is not a pretentious album of formulaic music, instead there are eleven piano-driven tracks backed with some nice cello and violin work. Singer Seth Ashley does sound like Ben Folds, but that is not a bad thing. Primary Sources is solid and sophisticated and does not fall victim to filler syndrome.

Website: www.elliecomehome.com