Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!
Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!
Polyvinyl (2004)
Over the past 2 years, the exclamation point has become more played out than "Hey Ya!" has over these past couple months. The exclamation point is used to show urgency, uprising, excitement. Volcano, I'm Still Excited!!, like Stop It!! the previous year, manage to avoid all three of those in their debut record. What you'll get with this record is … Read more
Volcano!
Paperwork
The Leaf Label (2008)
Now, I am an extremely misanthropic individual. I generally enjoy disliking things (and people) almost as much as I enjoy liking them. There is a perverse pleasure in mild hatred, a smug sense of self-justification when you can hover above the morons of this world and curl your lip in distaste at their floundering attempts at humanity. When this is … Read more
Volt
Rorhat
Exile on Mainstream/Southern (2006)
There are a lot of bands out there that sound like nothing more than the sum of their influences, without adding anything particularly interesting to the mix. But then there is a rare breed of band whose influences are obvious, yet at the same time, manages to produce something compelling in its own right. Volts, a three-piece hailing from Chemnitz, … Read more
Vow
Kind Eyes
The Native Sound (2016)
LA has been spoiling us lately: Bleached, Deap Valley and Warpaint are just a few of the bands that have been releasing stellar new material. These bands, like so many other musicians, use the fragments of past relationships as a springboard for putting chords and words on record. They all deliver their seething rebukes with the grittiness and determination necessary … Read more
Vow
Make Me Yours EP
The Native Sound (2014)
Easily the aural equivalent of the light and fluffy clouds that pepper your daydreams, LA duo Vow's second EP Make Me Yours finds them producing a more definitive sound couched in an ethereal sweetness. Opener "Miles Away" embraces an industrial aesthetic with vocalist Julia Blake's lithe, sugar-sweet singing acting as a curveball amongst the heavy, morose synths. It sounds like … Read more
Voytek
Self Titled
Big Action (2011)
Voytek are a Minneapolis punk band currently taking things to the next level. Whether that level is up or down is in the eye of the beholder, but it will start with reviewing this 2 song 7”—or should I say: this 6 song digital EP? With the bonus material outweighing the physical form, it’s tough to gauge just what type … Read more
Vultress
Distance
Independent (2013)
Don't be fooled by the naïvely inconspicuous visage; Vultress are the real deal, and their debut release Distance has emerged out of nowhere to become one of the most surprisingly proficient progressive albums this year.Actually, what's most remarkable about Distance is just how unremarkable it is. For an album that leaves an unforgettably positive impression, it's surprising to realize that … Read more
