 The
Visitations
"Propaganda" CD
Self-released
Genres: indie pop, indie rock
Nov 29 - Dec 5 2004 |
The Visitations craft politically-motivated pop tunes, with the
focus here being on George W. Bush and the war on Iraq. I didn't
think I'd like it, since many of these message-oriented records seem
to eschew melody in favour of lyrical concepts, but The Visitations
fare pretty well. Weird Al-esque "Osama & Your SUV" and the
cheery "Talkin' Hate Radio Blues" alone prove that pop and
politics can be mixed; however, to claim that all of this album's songs
are outright successes would be stretching the truth. For the most part, Propaganda bases itself on simple pop
hooks and witty commentary - a fine mixture, but one that can get
tiresome. A goofy romp such as this can only be pulled out and
listened to once in awhile; The Visitations are fun-loving,
clever folks, but their offbeat style is not one you can listen to
for hours on end - only folk songs "The Good News" and
"Be Not Afraid" really deviate from the band's principal
cheery style. Still, for a silly disc, this is surprisingly
solid - clever jabs like "does the price at the pump pay to
keep you free?" and "Heck no you ain't no bigot jack/you're
just an armchair quarterback" are paired with effective melodies,
so expect yourself to be singing them the next day. If these are
the types of one-liners you want to be humming near your coworkers,
give Propaganda
a try.
84%
Fun Fact: Visitations main man Davey
Wrathgaber was a member of the (now-extinct) Elephant 6
collective.
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
11 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2004] |
