Alternative music is a unique animal in that it takes all the
\nrules of conventional music and throws them out the window. Style
\nand genre often blend several times in the course of an album. If a
\nband knows how to do this blend well, the result is pleasant. If
\nthey stumble even a little bit, the resulting sound can be
\ntragic.<\/p>\n
Fortunately for Varnaline, their self-titled second effort falls
\ninto the first category. Jumping from balls-out rock to
\nintrospective acoustic work, Anders Parker and crew create a solid
\nmixture of styles and a great album.
\n(Editor’s note: As of this re-posting in April 2002, this disc
\nis out of print.)<\/i><\/p>\n
That this album is so solid is especially amazing because, prior
\nto this album, Varnaline was a one-man show run by Anders Parker.
\nOn this album, he enlists the assistance of brother John on bass
\nand drummer Jud Ehrbar; fortunately, they fit into the mix as if
\nthey were always part of it.<\/p>\n
The sonic fury of this band is evident on the opening cut
\n“Lights,” a song which allows all three instruments to be featured.
\nJohn Parker’s bass work is complicated yet smooth, while Ehrbar’s
\ndrumming works itself into a controlled frenzy. Topping all this is
\nAndres Parker’s chainsaw guitar riffs and slightly haltering vocals
\n(though this actually adds to the power of the track).<\/p>\n
When Varnaline kicks into a regular groove, however, they do
\nfalter a bit; “Meet Me On The Ledge” lacks the power that I think
\nit was meant to have. The band does show that they are able to
\nperform songs in this vein later on the album with “Empire Blues,”
\n“Understanding H.” and “God In Your Eyes.”<\/p>\n
But the true power of
\nVarnaline<\/i> is not always in their intensity; rather it is in
\ntheir quiet moments. “Sky’d Out” displays how to convey a message
\nwith the hushed tones of the acoustic guitar, while the piano lines
\nin “Really Can’t Say” carry more “oomph” than an over-distorted
\nguitar could.<\/p>\n
An aspect of Varnaline’s music centers on a touch of
\nspirituality, though the music hardly is bible-thumping revivalist
\nmusic. “God In Your Eyes” is a pretty song that segues – after 20
\nminutes of silence (
\nwhy<\/i> the hell do bands do this?) – into an uncredited track
\nthat sounds a lot like an angelic chorus. Despite the 20 minute
\ndelay in getting to this track, it is worth the time searching out
\nand hearing.<\/p>\n
The raw production qualities of
\nVarnaline<\/i> is a two-edged sword for the band. When a track
\nrequires a more gritty sound, the production job of Adam Lasus,
\nJason Cox and the band works to the track’s advantage. However, at
\nthe times a more somber mood is suggested, occasionally the
\nproduction takes away from the overall feel. Still, this is not a
\nmajor stumbling block for the disc.<\/p>\n
\nVarnaline<\/i> is proof that this three-piece will go places if
\ngiven the right breaks (and are granted airplay in major markets).
\nJudging from the potential this disc shows, Varnaline is just
\nbeginning to hit its creative stride. It will be interesting to
\nhear this band develop and what paths they’ll lead us down. Check
\nthis disc out and believe for yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[5842],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-35752","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-varnaline","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35752","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35752"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/35752\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35752"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35752"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=35752"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=35752"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}