Why "Overdue"- because head V&A guy Conan Neutron has been on my radar since, umm, I think, August. So, given my parameters, you'd be forgiven for thinking that I didn't care for this- which isn't the case- but the truth is that it got a bit lost in the shuffle, so this is an overdue discussion.
So, Victory and Associates play what could best be described as "post punk", but it's more unique than what that might seem to describe. See, the thing is, if you date Punk Rock to 1977, it's "classic rock", right? Because, if Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who and Led Zeppelin are "classic rock"- how many years different is that? Likewise, the secret to what became "post punk" is that it was just when Punk Rockers started to inject Punk with whatever pre-punk music they were into. The usual suspects were David Bowie, Dub Reggae, and Chic, but could include everything from Jazz to Country to Rockabilly. My personal stance is that's what made Post punk great- the cross-pollination of various music types. So, Victory and Associates mix some punk rock aesthetics with a whole lot of early 1970's pop hard rock- FM radio circa 1974 mixed with the rawness of mid 1980's bedroom raw lo-fi punk rock ( as opposed to hardcore). This is a formula that can be applied to everyone from Tom Petty to Guided By Voices, so why do I say they are unique? Because while the sound design is a lot closer to Bob Pollard & company, the actual core song-writing is a lot closer to Tom Petty. Which is- this is traditional rock songwriting, classic rock songwriting, almost entirely, but given a garage punk outfit. I don't hear a lot of that, these days. Also, as per the FM radio songwriting, this doesn't sound as good over headphones as it does on a small, cranked stereo. I bet it sounds best on somewhat worn vinyl, but that's a theory I cannot test, just yet. Which, again, brings us back to that early 1970's thing- you really don't want a CD of Bad Company, or Foghat, or Bachman Turner Overdrive, you want that Vinyl copy you got when you were 9, and played 800 times on your radio shack turntable, until your poorly maintained needle wrecked your record.
But, let's get a little closer- tracks like album closer "Taste the Danger" demonstrate just how right I am- at first, you might think it sounds like early Fugazi, but it's too relaxed, and too "in the pocket" for DC postpunk, and then, you realize how poppy the structure is, so you start thinking of Sloan, but then Sloan and Fugazi have very little in common, right? Well, except a secret affinity for Blue Oyster Cult- and then, it all falls into place. Album opener "We'll Have to be Our Own Heroes" might sound like Quicksand, until you realize how big of a Who fan Walter Schreifels is, making this into a mod power pop song. Even the most "punk" sounding track 'The End of Memory" shares DNA with both TSOL and Ted Nugent.
That a Melvins producer (Toshi Kasai) recorded it makes total sense, now, doesn't it?
However, the earnestness, and the sincerity lyrically espoused keeps this from Grunge/Alternative Nation/ Generation X irony, so Conan Neutron's vocal similarity to David Byrne should not be taken for distance from the music made- he's got a singer-songwriter's heart, but a cock rocker's golden god guitar, and, in the end, that's the best way to view this- an LP from a group of Rocknroll true believers- fanatics, even- of a type that most of us can't muster up the courage to be much after the age of 20.
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