Vacaciones - "Un Ano de..." cdep  (Elefant)
Super short cd with five songs in under nine minutes! This is fun, upbeat girl pop with influences ranging from Eggplant & Heavenly to Helen Love & the Go Gos. Sometimes rocking guitars, sometimes a clean sound, these songs are always instantly catchy. Not too easy to sing along, as they sing in Spanish, but they printed the lyrics in case you wanted to try! Very attractive gatefold sleeve, as well!   MTQ=5/5

Vacaciones - "Sonreir" cd  (Elefant)
After a couple brilliant singles, this is finally the first full-length album from this Spanish band. They play super-catchy, upbeat punky pop with similarities to Talulah Gosh, Helen Love, and maybe a touch of the Haywains, too. Lots of fuzzy jangly guitar and organ. Mostly girl vocals, though there are boy vocals on the title track; and all of the lyrics are in Spanish (and are also printed in the booklet, if you'd care to sing along). Most of the songs range in the 1½ to 3 minute range, though a couple go a little bit above three minutes. This is definitely a very fun record, and this band is one of my favorite current Spanish bands! Apparently, the vinyl version of this record comes with a bonus track, but sadly I don't have that...   MTQ=13/14

Vacaciones - "Suelta Los Problemas ¡Ya!" cdep  (De Paseo)
It's been a while since we've heard from this fabulous Spanish group, but this delightful four-song EP shows them still in fine form! While their previous releases showed a punkier side similar to Helen Love or Talulah Gosh, these songs have a more mature sound closer to Tender Trap or Shumai. The songs are still quite catchy and fun, but they're actually a little longer this time around, with two songs even passing the four minute mark - a first for the band! This EP is a teaser for their forthcoming album (also curiously not on Elefant), so I'll be looking forward to hearing that!   MTQ=4/4

Vacaciones - "Emmaboda" cd  (Discos Imprescindibles)
Vacaciones have traditionally been known for their short punky pop songs on their earlier records, but on this second album, they've matured their sound a bit to allow their songs to grow both in scope and length. Usually when you say a band has matured, you half expect them to have lost some of their spark, but these kids are still writing fun songs - just a bit longer and generally slower now. More Marine Research/Tender Trap than Talulah Gosh... They also show off their softer side in songs like "Qué Tienen Otras..." and "Batido De Vainilla". I do kind of miss their short bursts of energy ("Dis Berlin" is probably the only song that sounds like their older stuff), but there are plenty of wonderful songs to choose from on this disc, including "Mil Piruetas", "2 Corren x 3 Calles" and the album's title track.   MTQ=9/11

Stuart Valentine - "Melody's True" cd  (no label)
Though he's been in a few Portland-area bands over the years, this is the first solo album from Stuart Valentine. Mostly recorded by himself, with a bit of help from his friends here and there, this album is a gentle affair, full of mostly acoustic-based songs with Stuart's hushed voice. Not really coffeehouse-styled acoustic music, but more like the soft jangle you'd expect from the Fairways, Starlet or even Holiday. Even when the volume is turned up a little on songs like "Overseas", you won't find any distortion or raised voices. And during the even quieter songs like "Paranoia" or "India (The Strangest Pair)", I'm reminded a bit of Brighter or Trembling Blue Stars (when Bobby plays unaccompanied). This record was quite a pleasant surprise and is definitely recommended for any fan of wimpy pop!   MTQ=12/14

The Vanishing Spies - "Mystifying Alibis" cd  (Rotisserie)
Debut album by this self-proclaimed "supergroup" (merely because the members have been in over a dozen bands in the last ten years), and it's pretty good. I'll be honest, the production makes it sound a bit like generic power pop to me, but damn if the songs aren't super-catchy! It pretty much started right away, with "Assembled Women Might", and continued on through just about every song on here - the really good melodies. The music is sometimes energetic, sometimes low-key; I can hear bits of Built To Spill here, bits of Bob Mould/Sugar there (and I thought that before I read that they were from Minneapolis), and some Guided By Voices, too. The vocals are very good - kinda Elvis Costello-ish at times (lots of harmonies!), and the guitars are nice and crunchy. Plus, the 14 song disc clocks in at just over 35 minutes, so it's full of short catchy pop songs, and that's the best kind!   MTQ=11/14

Vehicle Flips - "For You I Pine" cd  (Magic Marker)
Third cd from this trio, and it sounds a bit different than expected. This time around, the sound is a bit more somber (at times), and the production sounds much better; more full. Of course, Frank's lyrics haven't changed since his Wimp Factor 14 days - they're still very intelligent, and involve subjects like the post office, bus service, & historical happenings. Also, the last track is first a brief post script to an earlier song, then the liner notes song to music... funny! Dust off the good couch, kids, parlor pop is back!   MTQ=9/11

Velcro Stars - "Hiroshima's Revenge" cd  (Happy Happy Birthday To Me)
This disc was originally released on the Grand Palace label (the collective in Murfreesboro that's a label, record store, and more, which the Stars happen to be a part of), but after impressing the folks at HHBTM with their great live shows and kind demeanor, they were signed! This is basically the same album as the original release, with the only differences being pressed discs, a handy informational insert, and much clearer silk-screening on the packaging (a compact cardboard case) - the original five-panel screened insert featuring the song's titles amongst assorted artwork is thankfully still included. The band's music generally falls on the lighter side of indie rock, incorporating boy/girl vocals and sounding like a mixture of bands like Rosebuds, Small Factory, Ether Family Presents and Madder Rose. The songs are usually calm, even during the more upbeat ones, though they'll have occasional bursts of Superchunk-ish energy/noise in a few songs like "Distraction", "Cascade" and "Same Every Day". Quite a fine debut from this young band!   MTQ=14/15

Veluxe - "What's Keeping You" cd  (Community Guardian)
Hailing from the sleepy town of Rochester, NY, this is the first album for this three-piece (though they've recently added a second guitarist for live shows). At their rawest, they remind me a lot of the Replacements or You Am I in songs like "Black Cloud", "No Free Lunch" and "One Trick Pony", while others like "Ode To A Record Store Clerk" and "In Search Of..." have a bit more of a jangly quality to them (while still quite rocking), similar to the Posies or maybe later Sloan. While some of these janglier songs (particularly the latter one) have a bit of an atmospheric feel to them, that element is expanded upon elsewhere on the album in songs like "Blood And Iron" and "Keep It In", mostly with boring results - because they go on way too long and also sound rather out of place with the stronger, catchier songs. And those stronger, catchier songs are the ones that keep me coming back time after time...   MTQ=11/14

Velvet Crush - "A Single Odessey" cd  (Action Musik)
Consisting of three of the most important people in American jangle pop - Jeffrey Underhill/Borchardt (Honeybunch) and Ric Menck and Paul Chastain (Choo Choo Train, Springfields, etc) - Velvet Crush couldn't help but be perfect. And as great as their albums were, their singles shined so much more. This disc compiles each and everyone of their non album tracks, as well as one previously unreleased track (a cover of Gene Clark's "Elevator Operator"); some of them on cd for the first time. I already knew many of these songs pretty well - "Circling The Sun" was a huge favorite of mine for the longest time - but it's really nice to have them all in one place, from the super-rare first Bus Stop single ("If Not True"/"One Thing Two Believe") to their cover of 20/20's "Remember The Lightning" from the BOB flexi to their very last single from last year. Lots of covers on this, too, like "Everything Flows" (Teenage Fanclub), "She Cracked" (Modern Lovers), and two Byrds covers: "Mr. Spaceman" & "One Hundred Years From Now". I would've liked some more liner notes, though they do at least list all of the singles with information about them and provide some cool photographs. I'm quite pleased that this compilation finally saw release!   MTQ=20/20

Velvet Crush - "Free Expression" dbl cd  (Action Musik)
I'm not entirely sure why this album has been re-released - I mean, it was only first released a few years ago, and it's not like Bobsled (the label that originally released it) is out of business. Last I checked, the record is still in print, and not that hard to find. However, I'm not going to complain at all, because the band have seen fit to not only remaster the album, adding a bonus track ("On My Side", a b-side from the "Goin' To My Head" single) in the process, but also add an entire album's worth of demos on a bonus disc! That's right - all 14 tracks on the album are also included in demo form (except "Gentle Breeze", which is omitted, with a demo of "Please Don't Take Me Down" in its place). It may seem silly to have two versions of almost every song on this album, yeah, but it's interesting to hear the songs as they existed before the final cuts. Sometimes there are fewer studio embellishments, giving the song a rawer sound; other times, there are even more things added, like the horns in "Worst Enemy", which give it an almost Bacharach feel. Additionally, the booklet contains loads of photos and new liner notes. If you're a fan of the band, then you'll surely want to pick this up; and if you're new to them, well, this is a great place to start and introduce yourself to one of the best American power pop bands of the 90s!   MTQ=25/28

Velvet Crush - "Stereo Blues" cd  (Action Musik)
This is the first album of new Velvet Crush material since their soft rock departure album, "Soft Sounds", as the band have been busy re-releasing older material for the past few years since 1999's "Free Expression". And unlike "Soft Sounds", this is a return to the louder and upbeat power pop that we've known and loved from these guys' earlier albums. There are some terrific classic-sounding songs on here - particularly the first three tracks ("Rusted Star", "Do What You Want" and "Here It Comes"), which grab your attention instantly. Unfortunately, they lost my attention almost as quickly as they grabbed it when the seven minute long (and it shows) "The Connection" came around, followed by "Son Of Ray" and "California Incline", the latter of which also suffered from an unnecessarily extended outro. The last half of the record has its moments ("I Want You Now" is especially notable), but the album never really recovers from its earlier stumbles, especially with the weak "Fall Awake" and "Get Yourself Right" getting in the way. Overall, it's not a bad record, but it's not really a classic Velvet Crush record, either...   MTQ=8/11

Vermont Sugar House - "Carlton Gardens" cd  (Firestation)
It's been several years since we last heard from these Mancunians, but don't worry about missing anything, as they've brought us up to speed by including both sides of their 1999 single on this album. Their sound is best likened to the Windmills and much of the Elston clan's output (think Slipslide, Liberty Ship, et al), with additional nods to the Go-Betweens in certain moments. The songs are generally midtempo, and though most of them are not instantly catchy, they still have a lively feeling to them that gives them a small level of energy, even during the lazy dancefloor hit, "Braveheart". My primary (and obvious) complaint about this record is that they've given us just a bit too much - four of these songs are presented in two alternate mixes, with only one of these extra versions adding anything interesting (the "cello mix" of "Just Wandering Around" actually introduces a full band sound, which I preferred to the original's starker acoustic presentation). Even more unfortunate is the fact that there are two versions of the album's weakest track, "Vanishing Point". Despite its flawed tracklisting, though, this is still a fine album of jangly British pop.   MTQ=8/14

Versus - "Hurrah" cd  (Merge)
The album starts out very pretty and quiet, but then after a couple minutes, everything kicks in with tons of energy. Such is Versus. For nearly ten years, Versus has been one of the best and most refreshing indie rock bands out there. Much of this is more mellow than their other releases, but is still in classic Versus-style. Abstract and intelligent lyrics, beautiful and poetic music... this is really wonderful! The only thing different this time around is that the record was almost entirely recorded, produced, and mixed by the band. The only exception is "Frederick's Of Hollywood", but it's mostly a crazy noise-fest a la Sonic Youth.   MTQ=11/12

The Very Most - "Making The Case For Me" cd  (Coming In Second)
After playing in bands like the Yukon And You and Pajama Party In A Haunted Hive in the late 90s, Jeremy Jensen is back with a new project, and this time he's going it alone. You couldn't really tell he was alone by listening, though, as he's created a full band sound, with the help of some friends. In fact, if you knew his prior groups, you probably couldn't even tell it was even the same person! Jeremy's songwriting and playing have improved considerably, and the musical style on this record is closer to the Shins, the Smiths and New Order, than Beat Happening and Built To Spill. Even the cover of the Microphones' "I Can't Believe You Actually Died" is played very straight-forward as a duet with his sister, Rachael, sounding a bit like Camera Obscura. Most of the songs on this album are excellent, especially "Swoon", "Call The Cops", "Smiling Surprise" and "Objective Perfect", though I wasn't too into the three interstitial/instrumental pieces and the closing epic, "Awkward Extremities". Still, though, do seek out this album - it's the surprise hit of the season!   MTQ=10/14

The Very Most - "Congratulations Forever" cd  (Coming In Second)
I've been a fan of Jeremy's work since first hearing his earlier bands, Pajama Party In A Haunted Hive and Yukon And You, nearly a decade ago, but this newer project is his best work to date. And as much as I loved his first record, this second one is substantially better - the good songs are great and the great songs are amazing! Like the previous album, this one took a few years to make, and has Jeremy joined by a couple dozen friends and relatives to create a beautiful pop record with a diverse array of sounds and voices. You'll find a number of catchy tunes (with "Good Fight Fighting", "Polygraph", "Dodged Ev'ry Bullet, Pt. 1" and "Spilt, Spilt Milk" being my favorites), as well as some fine, subtler songs, like "Neuron", "Love At Home" and their soft, acoustic cover of Built To Spill's "When Not Being Stupid Is Not Enough". I even kinda liked the short, instrumental "Dodged Ev'ry Bullet, Pt. 2"! The title track at the end of the record went on a couple minutes too long, but was otherwise pleasant. I quite like this record, and can't wait to hear from Jeremy again in another five years!   MTQ=12/14

VHS & The Babies - "s/t" cd  (RR&RP)
This is the second release from this Virginian group, although it really just consists of six new songs, followed by the twelve tracks from their debut (self-released?) cd, "Please, VHS & the Babies, Don't Hurt Em!". Seeing as I didn't have the first cd, I guess that's a good thing, eh? This cheery group plays fun twee pop in the vein of Shumai, the Snow Fairies and Murder Beach, with jangly guitars and boy/girl vocals (though I seem to prefer the songs where she sings). The six new tracks that open the disc are the best of the bunch, which shows that the band is improving nicely (especially in the vocals department, although I really could've done without the lame vocal effect in "Government 4 $ale, Inc"), though plenty of the older songs are quite good, too. The songs are typically short, with 18 tracks in about 34 minutes, and the song titles and lyrics are frequently silly, including songs like "Welcome To Sweet Valley School Of Hard Knocks", "Tony Danza V. The Unspeakable Vice Of The Greeks" and a new-wave tune about Scully's alien baby. It's not very original or anything, but this disc will guarantee you a half hour's worth of fun.   MTQ=15/18

Villa R - "Songs From The Apex" cd  (Disques Fridge)
This package came to me from Budapest, as that's where the band's chief songwriter, EÛin Young, lives now, but the album was recorded over the span of a week last year in his native Ireland with his old friends and bandmates from I Am The Waltons and The Deportees (who themselves were/are also in Hey Paulette and Crumb). The songs on this album have a pretty wide range, which include the jangly sound of "Plain Sailing" and "Full Sound", the power pop heard in "Not The Big Man" and the somber mood of "Deadly Muses" and "Memory & Passion" (the first in a Nick Drake style, while the other is more like Neil Young). There's also an instrumental that sounds just like an old R.E.M. outtake (which gave me a chuckle on first listen as it wasn't until the song was over that I realized it was called "Murmur"), and even some casio-pop (or as the liner notes put it: cheesy keyboard) in "Coloured Lines" and a fairly haunting cover of New Order's "Temptation". With such a wide variety of styles, it's not too surprising that the disc is a bit uneven overall, but there's definitely something for everyone on here, and enough to keep the record interesting.   MTQ=8/11

The Villains Of Verona - "Scene 1: I Only Play For Celebrities" cdep  (no label)
I'm actually having a bit of a hard time reviewing this record. On the one hand, the music is nearly perfect - the band writes and plays a style of indiepop that reminds me a lot of Voxtrot, with lots of reverb and Johnny Marr-isms in the guitar strumming and melodies. While on the other hand, the female singer has the type of voice that I'm not into at all, which is that full style of singing, like that of a trained vocalist. I realize it sounds silly to not like someone's voice because she actually can sing, but I've just never liked that style of singing for girl singers... However, the music is so good and the songs are so well-written, that I'm overlooking a key element that would normally make me turn a cd off after a couple minutes of listening. But anyone that doesn't share my aversion will surely love this little gem!   MTQ=6/6

Vince Mole & His Calcium Orchestra - "Nothing" 7"  (Happy Happy Birthday To Me)
Third single from these guys, and don't let the odd name throw you off. Yeah, these guys are related to the Elephant 6 community (the band's leader, Chris Parfitt, was in the Apples a long, long time ago), but they come from the poppy side (Apples, Minders), as opposed to the just plain weird side. Okay, there's a wee bit of psychedelic influence in the guitar solo of "It's Raining In My Mouth", but that's okay. Unfortunately, the band get off to a bad start on this single - the title track is a 4½ long dirgey song that isn't very interesting in the least. However, the two b-sides redeem them quite well - both are upbeat songs with a good amount of fuzz and noise. Actually, they don't really sound that different than the Apples back when they were just the Apples. Very good stuff!   MTQ=2/3

Simon Vincent - "Out Of Here" cd  (no label)
A true solo project, this record was written, recorded (with a little instrumentation help here and there) and released by Simon Vincent of Wales, and it's a pretty nice discovery. Falling somewhere between the Byrds and America, and sometimes reminding me of a softer Teenage Fanclub or an Elston-led project, this is jangly acoustic-based pop with a very relaxed feel. The accompanying press sheet actually called it "hard-edged indie guitar pop", but where they got that idea, I've no clue, as there's absolutely no edge to this music whatsoever. Not that that's a bad thing, as I sometimes quite prefer my indie guitar pop to be edgeless. The songs themselves do occasionally cover "edgy" topics like politics and war (when not dealing with more standard fare like love and loss), but they're done without an air of bad poetry that frequently occurs in songs about things like that. One slightly negative point I find is that Simon frequently seems to let the songs go on about 30 seconds too long, but apart from that, this is a pretty good and easy-going pop record.   MTQ=10/12

Violins - "Pink Water" cd  (Contraphonic)
I was quite pleased with the Clyde Federal double cdep from a couple years back, so I was pretty excited to listen to this, the debut album of the new band from Michael Lyons (leader of Clyde Federal). On the first couple listens, I noticed that the songs generally weren't quite as instantly catchy as the previous band's - instead, they're a bit more complex, reminding me of the Decemberists in many places (especially "The Launderer", "Sophie And Pierre" and "Deify, Defy, Defile"). I can also hear some "Arthur"/"Lola"-era Kinks in there, too, which would make sense, since the Clyde Federal stuff had a bit of an earlier Kinks influence to it. Despite the reduction of catchy songs (of which there are still a few, like "Bathwater" and "No Talent For The Infinite"), I still found much of this record enjoyable; a couple of the songs weren't too interesting, but the only one I actively disliked was the untitled repetitive instrumental which closes the album.   MTQ=9/12

The Vision Of A Dying World - "And The Grammar Lamb" cd  (Single Screen)
This is actually the third release I've received from the band; I did kind of like their first two records - each had some pretty good songs on them - but found them both to be a bit lacking overall. Persistence pays off, though, as I feel that they finally nailed it with this record; it's not perfect, but it's definitely a marked improvement on their earlier efforts. The band mixes a variety of influences, from the perfect sunny pop of Beulah to the country-inspired jangle of the Beachwod Sparks/Byrds to the oddball presentation/everything but the kitchen sink instrumentation of Elephant Six bands like the Music Tapes and Olivia Tremor Control (although the final track, "Life To The Living Dead", goes right to the source and owes more to the Kinks than E6). Sometimes things get a little too weird for me, but there is more of an emphasis on better songwriting this time, making this feel more like a good pop record with quirky moments than a strange record with a few pop gems.   MTQ=9/12

The Vision Of A Dying World - "Receives A Skelephone Call From The Eastern Side" cd  (Single Screen)
After reviewing their third(-ish) record only a few months ago, here's yet another release from this prolific band - and it's probably their best work to date. While it shares the same Elephant 6 fanaticism as their earlier work (check out the subtle Of Montreal reference at the end of the opening track, "Darkness") along with hints of Byrds-ish country, it's actually a bit harder-edged and noticeably darker than the poppier, Beulah-ish fare heard before. These six songs compose a mini-suite, with the songs segueing into each other quite nicely; and at 16½ minutes in length, it says everything it needs to and not a note more. Even the "freak out" bits, like the crazy horn parts near the end of "Skelephone Call", are well-placed and concise. This record just goes to show that psych-pop masterpieces need not be epics!   MTQ=6/6

The Visitors - "Miss" cd  (Matinee)
Brief cd compiling all the recordings of a band with an even briefer career. In 1987, we saw the Visitors' "Goldmining" released on a split flexi on the Sha La La label, and then that was it. Over ten years later, James Matinée flew over to England, dug up the master tapes, and here you go! So here we have eleven songs, hidden for years, straight out of the c86 era, where boy-indiepop bands like the Prayers, Windmills, and Biff Bang Pow! were king (or at least deserved to be). And these guys are totally on par with those bands, too. A bit of warning, though: these cd was mastered a bit loud, so don't throw it on without checking your volume. Ouch!   MTQ=10/11