Sunday, September 28, 2008

Where do you run to? Seriously, I'm asking.

Vivian Girls, "Where Do You Run To" (2008)
download free from RCRD LBL

I've never been able to decide if it's interesting or annoying when I come across an album that is almost completely unappealing, except for one song. The argument in favor of it being interesting is that it points to that magical moment when a band suddenly taps into a previously unknown well of inspiration that they apparently can't get to again. It's annoying for obvious reasons: they know where the well is, so why the hell can't they just go back to it?

All this as a way of saying that the Vivian Girl's s/t album that will be released on Tuesday doesn't do a whole lot for me--yet another interspersing of loud guitars and girl-group pop styles--except for "Where Do You Run To". It's a decent song in and of itself, but the harmonies seem to come from a different kind of creativity from the rest of the songs, showing a heartfelt and soulful craft that the rest of the album's "fuck it let's rock" approach seems to be completely unrelated to.

See, this is why I love music in song form over album form.

2 comments:

limocrazy said...

I probably would have tried to get the whole album after listening to this track...is the rest worth it?

That much reverb is a tricky thing to pull off.

areseven said...

See, I was pulling the old music writer's trick of being absolute when, in all honesty, I haven't given the full record much of a chance. But it just kind of goes by in a faceless blur so far, with this one song sticking out in an extreme way.

I reserve the right to change my opinion, though in a "Post a comment" way and not in a "New Post" way.

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