‘Person Place or Thing’ is the third release from the downright bizarrely named Victor! Fix the Sun, a three-piece from the US city of Grand Rapids, Michigan. It’s safe to say the band isn’t currently on many people’s radar this side of the pond and it’s hard to see that changing with this record. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid release it’s just lacking in that ‘must have’ quality.
Musically, the band is inventive and challenging. On the first few listens it’s a struggle to get that much out of ‘Person Place or Thing’, with it being a little chaotic. For the most part it touches base with elements of mathcore, all angular and methodic, whilst at times there’s an old school rock feel. There’re a few moments that hark back to the 70’s heavy metal scene (Black Sabbath comes to mind on opener, ‘My Friend the Guru’) and a few that recapture some of the Americana rock scene of the same era (or, at least, sound like they wouldn’t go amiss on the ‘Dazed and Confused soundrack). In a way it’s reminiscent of what The Plight is doing at the moment, only the focus is definitely more on the technical side rather than the rolling riffs.
Across the six tracks there’s a whole heap of deliberate precision. The songs tend to be long yet they don’t feel it for the most part. Whilst it’s not immediate, there’s definitely something to listen to here. But the problem is there’s not all that much to lodge this in the brain afterwards. It’s one of those records that you appreciate whilst listening to but you’re not going to rush off to for repeated spins. However, the potential is there. That’s for sure.
Victor! Fix the Sun sits somewhere between the twiddly, experimentalist hardcore genre and 1976’s US stoner rock/metal scene. That’s intriguing enough for a few listens at least.
Alex