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| WRR #61 - Victims of Telephone Firearms, Reckless Hands |
| OUT OF PRINT |
| The debut CD by Victims of Telephone is here! This is creative music made by creative minds. Don't be afraid to try something different! (2003) |
| Track Listing |
Here is what Warren said about this CD in the July 2003 issue of Imprint:
The first time that I listened to this album, I sat alone in my room, in
the dark, with a glass of wine and a pair of headphones. I listened to the
whole darn thing without pausing or interupting it in any way. If you
haven't heard the album yet, I suggest you do the same. And if you have
heard the album, do it anyway, you may catch something new. There's plenty
to hear.
It opens with a droning instrumental, which contains the only acoustic
"drums" on the entire album: a cd case. After you've almost been lulled to
slumberland by this "demo that didn't make the record," you'll be whisked
away to a magical land of Synthetic drums and pop-spirted hook heavy songs
that bring you back to the glory days of They Might Be Giants, but
definately mixed with an element of darkness and much more somber [some would
say fear-mongering] lyrics.
The second and third songs both deal with the storyteller killing people.
It rules. The rest of the cd isn't quite as malicious, but it remains at
the same barbituate-esque level of emotion, especially with such songs as
"Waste of Time," and the epic and unplugged closer "Nothing's getting good."
One thing that stands out quite a bit are the keyboard parts, which from
what I understand aren't so much a part of the band's live persona, which is
a shame since they seem to drive a lot of the tracks on the album. But with
or without them it's a good record.
There are quite a few obvious influences here, but it would be silly to
compare them to bands that they admit to being influenced by, so intstead
I'll say this. I hope that this band is not so easily neglected as so many
others before them have been. And so many along the road most likely will
be. They deserve our attention. If you are easily turned off by inventive
songwriting, and quality musicianship, then you may want to look elsewhere
for a good time. But if you ask me "Firearms, Reckless Hands" is a treat,
and we're lucky to have these guys around. Look forward to more from this
ever-evolving band.