Kemado 046
I'm constantly reminded of my aging when I look around me and see fields turned into storefronts and those storefronts subsequently changing tenants. But above all, in a technological world gone to microchips and albums becoming dissected into 99-cent iTunes pieces, I notice the endangered species of record stores. Like a cantankerous music loving obsessive, I reminisce of a time when independent stores existed as a normal part of the landscape rather than a tiny blip on the screen; places that preferred to keep customers deluged with artists past and present on labels major and indie from lands far and nearby, whose charm rested in posters touting years' worth of releases papering the walls and dusty surroundings that left residue on your fingertips following time spent scouring rows and rows of new and used CDs, LPs and cassettes.
The self-titled debut by VietNam sounds like something I would have found at one of these stores, an undiscovered gem that somehow found its way into the cutout or used bin due to a record company executive reshuffling or a disaffected public that just didn’t “get it” at the time of its release. And like the Land of Misfit Toys from "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," it just needed a caring owner to help fully realize its potential.
VietNam sounds like the past and the present, as if it was recorded in the early ’70s, and its tapes had been stored away until a recent discovery set in motion its release in 2007. There are subtle and obvious references to Bob Dylan (or at least Bright Eyes doing Dylan), Wilco, My Morning Jacket, Crazy Horse, Lou Reed, psychedelia, blues and possibly more that I can’t put my finger on even after a few listens. The musical connect-the-dots fail to detract from the overall musical picture. Just merely nods of acknowledgement to what’s transpired before members Michael Gerner, Michael Foss, Ivan Berko and Joshua Grubb. The songs a have a loose hazy feel to them as if they were recorded following a swallow of Jack Daniels and several bong hits. They shift and rock with a purposeful imbalance but, most importantly, there rests a sense of dedication and discipline that allows them never to keel over into an indulgent mess of overkill.
