Album Review - Violens: True

Violens
True
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Amoral, the debut album from Violens suffered perhaps from a surfeit of ideas and sounds, as if the band had too many influences and directions. As a result, the album, while still a favorite of mine, can sound disjointed and too varied. Hopping from Beatlesque pop to shoegaze anthems, with side trips through jangly guitar pop, post punk, new wave, and a hundred other styles (sometimes within the same song), Amoral was a whiplash listen, but one that kept you coming back for more, finding something new each time. In prepping their follow up, it appears the band declined to go for the same approach, choosing a more unified musical direction. Specifically, it seems they've been listening only to albums from The Smiths, James, The Railway Children, and The Ocean Blue. Each track is a swirl of jangly guitars and driving rhythms. While this makes for a smoother listen, it rather serves to negate what made the band interesting in the first place, that everything but the kitchen sink feel.

While overall I am not thrilled with this more focused direction, there are still some great singles on True that make the album worth checking out. Lush opener "Totally True" merges pristine ringing guitars with whispered vocals and harmonies, gradually working the song up in to a frenzy.



"Through The Window" charges over a driving beat, delicate percussion, and gently echoing guitars.



"Der Microarc" has a light jauntiness and pulsing bassline, interrupted every so often by slashes of guitars.



"All Night Low" throws it to the wall with an intense, almost hardcore backbeat and frenetic guitars.



Washes of organ enliven "Watch The Streams" as the guitars intertwine through the breathy vocals.



The problem I have with True is not there are any bad songs on the record, but mainly there is a lack of diversity or daring here. The songs on Amoral seemed to always be trying something different. It might not work all the time, but there was a level of risk taking that was notable. Here, there are just 12 very solid tracks that, while sometimes sublime, like "Totally True" or "Through The Window," are mostly somewhat average. They basically have the same elements: solid backbeat, jangly guitars, and whispered vocals. Indeed, one of my strongest complaints is that the vocals here rarely sound distinct at all, opting to be a hair above a whisper. While this adds to the dreaminess and ethereal quality of the record, it does make a lot of the songs sound very similar. This similarity over the course of these tracks makes the experience cohesive, but doesn't really make you want to jump back into the record again and again. True is a solid sophomore release, but sometimes solid can be very faint praise.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.