"Looks Like September has Won Once Again"

So, I went to School Kids Records today to pick up a copy of John Vanderslice's recently released "Emerald City." While not as good as "Pixel Revolt," JV has yet again created a beautiful album. It's dark with political unrest in an apocalyptic atmosphere dwelling on post 911 life. The main focus of "Emerald City" is
Vanderslice's struggle to get a visa for his French girlfriend so she could come live with him. This political element stands out the most on the final song "Central Booking." "Pixel Revolt" contained a lot of post 9-11 references, especially in "Exodus Damage," yet the references seem so much darker and cynical. The line "looks like September has won once again" in "Central Booking" is just one of those harsh statements said in political mockery. Hell, even the album title is a 9-11 reference.

Throughout "Emerald City," it suggests apocalyptic themes in the lyrics, yet Vanderslice still makes beautiful music with sounds of hope. His voice echoes loss and pain, but it also contains the call to not give up. When he played "White Dove" live - a depressingly beautiful song - his face lit up as if it were an anthem of not giving up a fight. "White Dove" is one of the strongest songs on the album as it is so beautiful. However, the entire album fits well together and the musician ship is obviously well crafted. The style ranges from acoustic to distorted acoustic with hip-hop influenced beats and his usual bells and whistles.

"Emerald City" was recorded live in JV's Tiny Telephone studio, and there are some blog videos going around of some of these sessions. The video to one of these is the first song off of the album "Kookaburra," and it can be found at :Kookaburra

Or you can download White Dove

I highly recommend that you pick up "Emerald City" because it's on the fast track to being one of this year's best.

C'mon, support the kindest person in indie rock.




Peace, Love and Keep Rock Alie