Vivian Girls
Everything Goes Wrong
(In The Red)
The world needs more songs like “You’re My Guy.” Rock 'n' roll was built on these short bursts of unfiltered emotion. It’s no matter that the fellow the Vivian Girls are singing about doesn’t seem too happy about the situation. There’s determination in such a declaration.
You can have your overwrought, unemotional soundscapes, indie rock. I’ll take three drunk girls kicking around in the basement and shouting “You’re My Guy” every time.
No one will mistake any of the three Vivian Girls for instrumental aces. At a lot of points on this, their sophomore LP, they struggle to get far past proficient. And that’s fine. It’s honest. They aren’t trying to be anything they aren’t.
Metronomic drumming and hazily distorted guitars work perfectly on “Can’t Get Over You,” leaving plenty of room for the simply delivered hook and perfectly placed “whaa-oos.” It’s the new wall of sound where everything is mixed relatively low, inducing a sort of distorted humidity and giving the points where the vocals do rise above the rest a little added value.
After the group's self-titled debut, Everything Goes Wrong represents dramatic improvement. The songs actually vary a little in structure. The singing is a bit better sporting a less rough sound.
To their credit though, they don’t really clean things up too much, leaving a tape hiss under most everything and a layer of haze over every vocal.
Because that’s honest. That’s youth and that’s rock n roll.
To get the day's news and headlines in your inbox each morning, sign up for our email newsletters.