Vivian Girls – s/t
Rating: 
Everyone seems keen on the Vivian Girls lately; you’ll find their name on every independent blog or web site across the world. Despite their recent rise to glory, it’s completely clear that the girls have a great deal of work to do in order to rise all the way to the top.
After a set of 7 inches, and a short run of their self-title debut, the girls have re-released the entire debut; this time on In the Red Records. It’s odd how such a short career has risen sky-high, and one must question whether the downturn in the global market has finally led to inflation in the minds of indie connoisseurs .
“All the TIme” opens this album, and the earnestness in the song definitely creates a sense of interest for the listener. The soulful female vocals, reminiscent of ancient R&B singers, carries the song amidst waves of sheer noise. This is about as far as one can go with garnering loads of praise upon the band; their efforts here fail in regards to the critical praise they have recently achieved.
Throughout the entire album, the drum work is somewhat shoddy, relying upon the cymbals and pounding snare work, which harks back to the more straightforward punk sounds that came out of New York in the eighties. For some reason, the drums lack the proper clarity in the final mix, which destroys their overall effect, almost rendering them the label of juvenile.
Every song seems to follow in the footsteps of the first track, playing upon the the female harmonies. Momentarily, one might be distracted from the walls of noise and feedback at first, but as the album continues to push forward with the varying levels of sonic noise it appears as if Vivian Girls are trying to hide their capabilities behind such noise, disguising their talent from the ears of listeners.
No one seems to be linking the girls to the fame and popularity of Beat Happening. Sure, Calvin Johnson carried the band for years, but just go back to the album Jamboree and listen to Heather Lewis sing on “In Between” and you will clearly see that the Vivian Girls have quietly lifted their style from everything in that song. The only difference is that they surround the pop elements with unnecessary noise. Clearly, they have work to do if they want to achieve the longevity of Calvin’s low-fi pop genius.
Listening to this album is something that one should do with skepticism. All the hype in the world just doesn’t come through your speakers the way that you want it to do. You can’t blame the Vivian Girls for this, for it’s clear that they didn’t rise to fame without merit. There are elements of enjoyment here, along with promise, but the punch in the face you all hoped for doesn’t come through in the end.