Vicky Cryer - "The Synthetic Love of Emotional Engineering"

Jason Hill's Louis XIV is a band that never got a fair shake. Some of the material was immature and AMateurish, but there was definitely some sex-drenched rock genius sprinkled into the band's first three records. And, again, sure, they sold some albums and got a little bit of attention but mostly, they were under-appreciated. Pitchfork gave their debut full-length (2005's "The Best Little Secrets Are Kept") a 1.2. As far as online music journalism goes, this is not only really really bad - it's fucking LEGENDARY. While Pitchfork is notoriously rough, as far as ratings go, they normally relegate stuff they don't like to 3s and 4s. And even 3s are mercifully rare. If you score a 5 or higher, chances are, your music is probably commercially viable and at least fairly creative. 

Anyway- even though I've always had a knack for the idea of Louis XIV and what they could potentially realize musically, they sort of faded off into the background after 2007's underrated and under-reviewed "The Distances from Everyone to You" EP. 

Vicky Cryer is the more-sophisticated, more grown-up vehicle that I've been looking for, to enjoy Jason Hill's raunchy artistry. The backdrop for Vicky Cryer is funkier and more soulful than anything that the constituent members have tried before. The lineup includes members from The Killers, Muse, The Mars Volta and even some sax playing from the New York Dolls' David Johansen. None of these bands scream funk but when they get together, it sounds like Roxy Music meets Rare Earth meets Beck. The funkiness is funky (as in weird, that is), but the collaborators still have all the necessarily skills to lay down some unbelievable grooves. 

The first song ("Smut") hits like a shotgun blast to the chest. A distorted, pitch-shifted guitar hook starts off the track, accompanied by nothing else, and by the time it has the chance to repeat, it's joined by an abrupt explosion of thundering bass and mechanical percussion which sounds more like a rhythmic slamming of car doors than any drum kit. Not even a minute into the record, Hill starts with his hallmark sexual innuendo, "Baby, you're like a ten-speed. Because, baby you were born to ride." The funky, molasses-slow, rhythm section allows suggestive Hill's vocals to hang in the air.

"Girls" will inevitably be re-mixed by every dance artist and DJ who can get their hands on it. Aside from two short bridges, the song is basically a perpetual chorus of "girls just want to make the boys cry". But the disco rhythm section spins these simple words into pure gold, and a worthy dance-floor anthem nobody ever saw crass rocker Jason Hill being involved with. This song is already bouncing around on Youtube. We get more disco genius on track "Krokodil Tears".

Fancy Animal records plans to release the album in April. 

The Dead Revolt: The Substance of Things not seen

This band is clearly influenced by the Mars Volta. That's one of the first things the listener will notice. However that quickly becomes irrelevant as the album progresses.The songs are not cheap cardboard cutouts of Mars Volta tracks, they're merely inspired by the same energy and most contain the same depth. The execution is there.

While nearly every song is solid enough to be its own single, the track that truly makes this album is "Vulpecula/Luna Mare". There are radical variations in tempo, volume, and mood which set it apart from even other songs on the same record. Besides their more modern influences the band admits they're also inspired by older prog rock acts like Pink Floyd. The ending of "Walk-Ins and Wanderers" contains a small section that would make David Gilmour blush before plunging back into a more aggressive hard rock sound.

For a freshman effort especially, this album is simply incredible. If this band continues to write the way they do, there will be even better days ahead.

Score: 7.75/10