Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band Album Review: Self-Titled Glory
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Artist:
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Album:Self-Titled Glory
Melissa Schrettner STAFF WRITER
With their self-titled full-length debut, Seattle quintet Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band packs quite a punch—not that it’s any surprise. MSHVB (for short…?) first gained a lot of buzz by a) having in insanely whacky name which was chosen by their now 14-year-old drummer, and b) filming videos that mocked 80s and 90s PSAs and then posting them on their Myspace—which didn’t actually have any music. Somehow, all of that miraculously morphed into a band that sounds like the beautiful lovechild of good times and good weather. (Or, you know, of Tokyo Police Club and Arcade Fire, if that makes any more sense to you.)
MSHVB has some punchy indie-pop chord progressions that are constantly changing and evolving, keeping you on your toes, while the lyrics stay light. In “Going on a Hunt,” front man Benjamin Verdoes sings, “I’m going to spear the mighty giant squid/I’ll steal its ink to write you a letter” over top of a hard-hitting guitar-and-drums combo. But then, at about 40 seconds in, the song changes almost radically into a quiet, mellow jam that sounds like it should be a completely different track. No worries, it changes back and the group throws in some chanting and picks up the pace, leaving you sort of wondering what just happened there, but also really wanting it, whatever it was, to happen again.
This seems to be a constant for MSHVB. The track titled “Little Red Shoes” may flow a little more smoothly in the fact that there’s some wild guitar licks the entire way through, but the shift from one mood to the other happens just as abruptly. By the end of the song, you almost feel like you’ve heard an entire rock opera in a mean two and a half minutes.
Now, you may be wary—I was. After all, musical chaos doesn’t usually lead to anything of any merit. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, however, is an exception; a controlled chaos that you’ll want to capture and place on your shelf next to a jar of fireflies—only, you’ll spend so much time listening to the album on repeat, over and over, that it’ll probably never be shelved and instead find itself to be a permanent playlist fixture.
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READ MORE MELISSA!
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Going On A Hunt.mp3
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Little Red Shoes.mp3
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Who's Asking.mp3
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senses popped, enjoy the weekend, read the comments -
With their self-titled full-length debut, Seattle quintet Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band packs quite a punch—not that it’s any surprise. MSHVB (for short…?) first gained a lot of buzz by a) having in insanely whacky name which was chosen by their now 14-year-old drummer, and b) filming videos that mocked 80s and 90s PSAs and then posting them on their Myspace—which didn’t actually have any music. Somehow, all of that miraculously morphed into a band that sounds like the beautiful lovechild of good times and good weather. (Or, you know, of Tokyo Police Club and Arcade Fire, if that makes any more sense to you.)MSHVB has some punchy indie-pop chord progressions that are constantly changing and evolving, keeping you on your toes, while the lyrics stay light. In “Going on a Hunt,” front man Benjamin Verdoes sings, “I’m going to spear the mighty giant squid/I’ll steal its ink to write you a letter” over top of a hard-hitting guitar-and-drums combo. But then, at about 40 seconds in, the song changes almost radically into a quiet, mellow jam that sounds like it should be a completely different track. No worries, it changes back and the group throws in some chanting and picks up the pace, leaving you sort of wondering what just happened there, but also really wanting it, whatever it was, to happen again.
This seems to be a constant for MSHVB. The track titled “Little Red Shoes” may flow a little more smoothly in the fact that there’s some wild guitar licks the entire way through, but the shift from one mood to the other happens just as abruptly. By the end of the song, you almost feel like you’ve heard an entire rock opera in a mean two and a half minutes.
Now, you may be wary—I was. After all, musical chaos doesn’t usually lead to anything of any merit. Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, however, is an exception; a controlled chaos that you’ll want to capture and place on your shelf next to a jar of fireflies—only, you’ll spend so much time listening to the album on repeat, over and over, that it’ll probably never be shelved and instead find itself to be a permanent playlist fixture.Don't forget to subscribe to PopSense via feed or email for free updates!
READ MORE MELISSA!
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Going On A Hunt.mp3
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Little Red Shoes.mp3
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band - Who's Asking.mp3
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senses popped, enjoy the weekend, read the comments -
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