Review:

on 2010-02-09 Zakerias Said:

VENUS BOGARDUS - SPITTING AT THE GLASS


2010 is sure to bring a lot of interesting and well-composed albums our way, but from what I've heard so far, there has been no better way to start this blizzard-ridden year off than by receiving a copy of "Spitting At The Glass" from Venus Bogardus.

I had been previously semi-impressed by their 2007 release entitled "Motorman" and am happy to say that "Spitting At The Glass" has spit-up all over and substantially shown up that previous work.

At the heart of this beast lay original members James Reich (Vocals, Guitar) and Hannah Levbarg (Vocals, Bass Guitar), who are backboned by a semi-newfound addition of James Carr (Drums).

From the smashing fuzz-rock surrounded by well-placed dissonance and acoustic guitar licks (both of which contain roots and chops) to the oddly timed break-grooves and overall experimentation with sound that keeps the right head spinning; Venus Bogardus has been successful in creating one hell of an "enlightening potion" to taste this year.

Of course, when unable to circumvent myself from trying to think of which fans of what band I could suggest these lovely vibes to, I immediately thought of Sleepy Time Gorilla Museum when seemingly operatic vocal styles sprung up throughout tracks such as "Permanent Notice" and the title track, "Spitting At The Glass"... Not to mention that the voice of James Reich does help this thought out a little bit...

As the album plays through, nears the end and starts up the track "Brett Smile pile-up", you realize that after about fifteen minutes of zoning out in psychedelic comfort that they made sure to put that in there just for you; a track cutting out at after eighteen minutes. The vocals that periodically appear in this lullaby almost take us back a few decades and give, yet again, another glimpse into the diversity being dealt with inside the walls of "Spitting At The Glass".

With all of what could be considered to be mildly-insane about Venus Bogardus, they proceed to show impressive and solid song-writing skills that give great depth to every single one of their creations. Prepare to be up-beat, down in a hole, slapped across the face and tied together with an underlying rope of sexual-tension (which should be expected with the name "Venus Bogardus" being a character out of the 1962 lesbian pulp fiction by Ann Bannon, entitled Beebo Brinker) that keeps you excited for what's to come next without being able to predict it at all throughout what they deliver.

The track "Flat Planes" appears twice on this album in order to provide a radio-friendly version of itself, and with a good idea behind the thought of that. With this said, and after selectively listening through the album in its entirety a number of times to make sure, the song "Exiles" would still have been my pick for the radio-pushing. This track stands out vocally above the others, in my opinion, because where they are diverse in what they do, there's still always going to be an accumulative technique and overall style that works the best for a band, and "Exiles" nails that spot-on and hands-down with absolute precision.

It's not too often that I fall deeply in love with an entire album, but it sure does feel good when it happens. There's honestly nothing that I could personally hear to even attempt to criticize in any way through this album and I'm thoroughly impressed by this.

Should there be any love for music lying within you at all, which of course there is, then obviously your next move should be to put that new Yeasayer album back on the shelf and pick up a copy of "Spitting At The Glass" directly from http://www.venusbogardus.com with some confidence instead.

Rating: 10/10