The Phoenix Network:
 
 
 
About  |  Advertise
 
CD Reviews  |  Classical  |  Download  |  Live Reviews  |  Music Features  |  New England Music News
--> -->

Vietnam

Vietnam | Kemado
By FRANKLIN SOULTS  |  January 29, 2007
2.5 2.5 Stars
070202_inside_vietnam
“We just wanted a name that had power,” says co-founder Michael Gerner in Rolling Stone. “I grew up as a military brat, and ‘Vietnam’ was a bad word.” Then why not go super bad with the fresh rot of “Fallujah” or “Bora Bora”? Like hirsute hotties from My Morning Jacket to Kings of Leon, these four vagabond hairheads prefer to recall an era when the establishment considered turning on and dropping out a sociopolitical threat. At times Gerner’s affected vocals and the band’s recycled blues rock are derivative of Blonde on Blonde–era Dylan; at others the quartet almost live up to Loaded-era Velvets, especially on “Summer in the City,” a nasty requiem for an OD who was “a pretty good lay/At least that’s what they say.” Except that whereas Uncle Lou always delivered his misanthropic decadence from an alienated distance, these miscreants undercut themselves by laying on strings, horns, or electric organ as the singer builds to an old-school wail like a cynical, deadbeat Joe Cocker. Although this long-heralded debut moves smoothly between slow-building rockers and quick sing-alongs, by the end all the bad vibes (and worse poetry) make you hope the band meet some burly old vets at the methadone clinic.
Related:
  • Straight talk
    It’s time to cover John M c Cain again — and here are ten good places for the media to start.
  • Little Red ’Net
    The battle for Internet freedom will not end with China
  • Vietnam
    Lou Reed called: he wants his lyrics back.
  • More more >
  Topics: CD Reviews , Vietnam , Michael Gerner , Joe Cocker ,  More more >
  • Share:
  • RSS feed Rss
  • Email this article to a friend Email
  • Print this article Print
Comments

Today's Event Picks
ARTICLES BY FRANKLIN SOULTS
Share this entry with Delicious

 See all articles by: FRANKLIN SOULTS

MOST POPULAR
RSS Feed of for the most popular articles
 Most Viewed   Most Emailed 



Wednesday, December 03, 2008  |  Sign In  |  Register
 
thePhoenix.com:
Phoenix Media/Communications Group:
TODAY'S FEATURED ADVERTISERS
Copyright © 2008 The Phoenix Media/Communications Group