Voo – ‘Dates, facts & Figures'(album)/Same Mistakes’ (single) – Spank Records
Posted: January 10th, 2009, by Mandy WilliamsThere are some great bands coming out of Liverpool at the moment who don’t sound like they come from there. To my mind that’s a good thing, I long ago tired of Sixties pretenders. Frontrunners include Wave Machines, Hot Club De Paris, 28 Costumes and this band Voo, who I discovered at Liverpool Music Week 2007. Their debut album has been out for a while now and they have just released a new single in anticipation to their sophomore offering. Having recently received it though, I think the first album is worthy of some press.
Fans of jingle jangle pop suffused with nineties college rock look no further. Voo provide that deadly mix of intricate and beauteous guitar work with light touch vocals, unswerving bass and percussion.
Think Death Cab for Cutie meets Teenage Fanclub with some Lemonheads thrown in. ‘For Sake of Space,’ boasts an enticing swirling guitar line that hooks you and has you humming ‘the music lived for the last time today.’ ‘Shape & Size,’ contains synth work reminiscent of Grandaddy and possesses the unshakable vigorous quality of Pavement.
‘On The Return,’ is a former single of layered resonance. ‘Favourite Films (the films we like)’ sounds like Polytechnic meets The Shins, which is always welcome in my house. While ‘The Constant Threat of Falling Buildings,’ is an upbeat stop start piece that ends the album in style.
Their single ‘Same Mistakes,’ is from the forthcoming album ‘Songs We Used to dance To.’ It gallops along with the urgency of The Spinto Band. It is of course interspersed with telltale Voo, a sense of beat driven harmony. I actually prefer the b-side ‘What Will Happen and When’ which meanders and draws you in. ‘The music’s loud enough to drown me out…to cover this up,’ they intone. The new album can’t come soon enough for me. Voo wrap you in a blanket of low-fi sound. They’ll keep you warm in winter.
http://www.myspace.com/voorock
by Mandy Williams
