Preoccupations
Preoccupations
When Viet Cong announced they would change their name, the music world waited--for over six months--with bated breath, to hear what the new name would be. Unfortunately, it's not a particularly compelling name, though it is a huge middle finger to everyone who stood and protested outside their early live shows.
But let's table the name change--one that makes the band seem more like 80's new-wave than the noisy, dark, post-punk revival it really is--for now. Instead, let us examine the genius of subtle songwriting, wall of dark ambiance, and flood of emotional messages conveyed in their most recent album.
I could do a whole post about the song "Memory" alone, which is so fantastic and epic that it's already been shortlisted (by me) as the best song of the year. Its 11-minute run time may put some people off, but it really shouldn't. Preoccupations use this length brilliantly, combining several movements, an emotional roller coaster, and the exquisite upbeat Echo-and-the-Bunnymen-esque sound counterpointing the very gloomy (though pleasantly delivered) lyrics. Even the four-plus minutes of guitar drones that mark the end of the song are entirely compelling.
Other standouts include singles "Anxiety" and "Degraded," the first of which opens the album beautifully, and reopens a subject the band dwelled on throughout their last album: the anxiety and pressure forced on us by everyday life. The second is a Protomartyr-style romp that will have you wondering if you should dance, or stand in the corner and mutter Nietzsche.
It's not often an act gets the chance to have two different self-titled albums (unless they're Peter Gabriel), but this band has made the best of both. Preoccupations is a harrowing, ferocious record that is joyfully alive, despite being...ahem...preoccupied, with more dismal themes.
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