Memory＜Colored Vinyl＞

The return of the Vivian Girls in 2019 seemingly came out of nowhere. Since they broke up, each member of the group had struck out on her own and forged a path free and clear of the band and their reputation. Their friendship brought them back together to record Memory, and fans of the band and their brand of spooky, hooky noise pop should be glad. The three bandmembers apply the musical growth they experienced in other projects -- Cassie Ramone in the Babies, Katy Goodman in La Sera, and Ali Koehler in Upset -- to this record, and working with producer Rob Barbato, they deliver plenty of songs that add the noise of punk to the sweetness of pop, sounding tough and more focused than ever. About half of the record is made up of songs that sound like the Angels fronting Dead Moon, their harmonies sweetly haunting and Ramones guitar throwing off fierce sparks. Theres not much of the ramshackle wandering of earlier records here though. Waiting in the Car hits like a sledge, Most of All stalks like a big cat on the prowl, and Sick is a headlong dash of a song with beautiful vocal harmonies in the chorus. If these kind of ripping jams were all the band did, Memory would have been a great comeback. The other half of the album adds great value and helps it become something even better. Your Kind of Life is a jangling, atmospheric C-86 ballad, At It Again sounds like a Beat Happening song played merrily through a wind tunnel, Im Far Away is another tightly wound rocker that betrays the bands worship of the Wipers, and Mistake is a restrained and melancholy girl group indie made special by their vocal harmonies and the guitar blowouts. While those songs are all very bright and cheerful by Vivian Girl standards, they also take a left turn into grungy guitar muck on the overdriven and heavy Sludge. They pull this off just as well as they do the lighter tunes, and its a good marker of their growth that they can. This reunion isnt tossed off and the band doesnt fall into the nostalgia trap; theyve taken the things that made them good and refined them to a sharp point. Memory isnt just their best record, it makes good on all the promise they displayed early on and will hopefully shut their critics up once and for all. ~ Tim Sendra

祝・再結成&8年ぶりの新作リリース!ドリーミーでノイジーなサウンドは立ち止まったところから再出発したことを思わせながら、彼女たちの足取りはとことん軽やかだ。軽快なパンク・ロックを軸にフィードバック・ノイズの轟音から美しいハーモニーを重ねたネオアコ・ナンバーまで、大胆に挑んだ振り幅の追求は、本作の聴きどころであると同時に今後の可能性も示唆している。同窓会で終わらせちゃもったいない。
bounce (C)山口智男