Thanks to the Royal Mail (or should that be no thanks with the amount of mail they have lost in recent weeks?), Vice‘s new CD has taken much longer than the average reviewing time. But after sending off a second copy I can now reveal my thoughts. And they are…well…it’s alright. What struck me most about ‘Postcards to Anywhere’ is that while the musicianship is of an excellent standard, the songs themselves just don’t stick. There’s no doubting the band’s obvious talents – the guitar parts are well constructed and the songs take on interesting parts, rather than following any cliched, boring verse/chorus/verse structures, but while other bands (Coheed and Cambria spring to mind, even though Vice aren’t as complex as Claudio and co) have a relevant x-factor, on the basis of these three tracks Vice do not.
That’s not to say these efforts aren’t good. The vocals are good and the production is clear and smooth, but there’s just something missing. I didn’t need to reach for the skip button (which is a positive), but at the same time I did find myself waiting for the next song to start. ‘Goodbye Farewell‘ is arguably the standout, probably because of the intelligent song structure, but while the build-ups create a heck of a lot of musical tension, the inevitable release just isn’t powerful enough. It’s like the songs build up as though they are getting ready to take off, but upon the launch they simply slip off the ledge.
Thumbs up for trying to be different and kudos for being musically talented, but I expect we will be hearing better things from Vice in the coming months. The challenge is, can you build on what you have and create the mini-masterpieces your talent suggests you can? I think so…just go ahead and prove it.
www.vicemusic.co.uk
Positive Impact records
Paul