VCR – Self Titled

SideOneDummy fans were first introduced to their new band VCR through the ever popular Atticus Draggin’ The Lake series. Their synth-punk song Bratcore was enough to start a small stir amongst fans and critics alike and word soon started to spread about Richmond, Virginia ground. But the question remained, will the band be able to put out an entire CD that is able to keep the listener’s attention the entire time? The answer to that is, sadly, no.

The first thing you notice about their self-titled EP is the mistake in the track listing. Everywhere you look, there says there are seven songs on it. There’s seven listed in the back cover, seven sets of lyrics in the booklet, and yet only six songs on the disc. The mysterious Destroy never makes an appearance. Maybe this mistake is only on the press copies, maybe its on all of them, whatever it is, its unnerving.

The synth-punk band has an abnormally line up with three keyboardists, one bassist, one drummer, but no guitarist. Meaning the songs are really heavily laced with keyboard melodies and breakdowns. The vocals Chad Middleton are strong, slightly catchy, and bright up memories of Rob Aston of The Transplants while Mya Anitai’s more soothing, melodic vocals let in a breath of fresh air and really push the songs forward. But still, there’s nothing to really make you want to listen to the EP over and over again. In reality, even the six songs are a little overwhelming for the conventional punk listener. They’d probably be okay mixed into compilations, like on Atticus 3, but become too strong all on one disc.

Although they didn’t mean to, they sound a lot like retro-80 bands like Depeche Mode and Talking Heads. It is a very experimental sound and really isn’t my cup of tea. I’d rather stick with the more conventional punk bands rather then this overly synthezetic punk band from Virginia. And I’m still wondering where the hell Destroy is.