2009-05-31
Out of Portland, duo-used-to-be, Viva Voce is now a quartet for its second album on Barsuk Records. Combining guy-girl harmonies with dreamy guitar and dark lyrics, Viva Voce offers and ambient shoegaze-pop sound. This album was written, arranged and recorded within a month for an immediate sound. Best songs are the country-noir "Red Letter Day" and "Die A Little" with its cool "oooh, oooh, oooh" refrain. Nothing here beats "Devotion", though, the album's opener. Rebecca Ruth
...AND YOU WILL KNOW US BY THE TRAIL OF DEAD
The Century of Self
Assembly of Dust
The Honest Hour
Stew
Something Deeper Than These Changes
The Plurals
An Onion Tied To My Belt
Bruce Hornsby
Halcyon Days
MY MORNING JACKET
Evil Urges
The opinions expressed in these reviews are those of the individual volunteers that submitted the article and do not necessarily reflect the views of WYCE or GRCMC; nor its staff, donors, or affiliates.