I have been listening to another new CD, courtesy of Amazon’s ‘Vine’ programme. Its a self-title debut album from The Virgins: a New York indie band who seem to be quite popular in France. Here is what I thought of it:
There has been a bit of a buzz about this band from New York, with a common theme being comparisons to the Gang of Four. Not sure about that: they sound more like they have been influenced by the bands who were influenced by GO4 (i.e. Franz Ferdinand, Futureheads) – but that is not necessarily a bad thing.
What we have here is some spikey quitars over some seriously funky basslines, vocals that sound a lot like Elvis Costello half the time, some archetypal 80’s keyboards thrown in on some tracks, and even the odd bit of Haircut 100-style sax I can’t remember the last time a brand new album from a brand new band made me feel so nostalgic!
I like it . The CD starts well with three strong indie-disco tracks. The fourth is where the 80’s synths come in, although still a good track. Not so sure about track five (Fernando Pando). I will need to hear it a few more times: its one of those stop/start, fast/slow songs.
Track six (Murder) is as eighties as shoulderpads and rolled up jacket sleeves, and maybe that’s why I really liked it immediately. The rest of the CD is in the same indie/funk vein right up to the annoying final track.
Not that the song is annoying. Its OK, its just that it is a three-minute song in a seven-minute track – followed by a couple of minutes of silence and than a few minutes of messing about. Not much fun when it is ripped to an mp3 player. I thought everybody had given up on these naff ‘hidden’ tracks ages ago.
Apart from that small gripe, I really enjoyed the album for its energy and its funky retro sound.
Here is a clip of them from a French TV show – they sound a lot more modern playing live than they do with the layers of extra production that the CD has.
And here is the official video for the single Rich Girls.
Gary // Aug 28, 2008 at 8:05 pm
I know this isn’t about your blog entry exactly, but when do the Amazon Vine newsletters come out? I’m just completing my first round of Vine reviews, and am wondering when I will again get a chance to order stuff. I think it’s a great program, and evidently you do too; but I wish Amazon would tell us a little more about it.
Skuds // Aug 28, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Third Thursday of the month at 0800. There are also some ‘specials’ inbetween, like a recent one for new authors.
Amazon do have a FAQ about it all, although the link to it is tucked away a little bit. The links at the bottom of Vine pages also include a forum just for Vine members, which I have not checked out yet.