Carrying on the bad tradition: Scott Klein and Vincent & the Noise reviewed

Vincent & the Noise – Lover, I Am Sleeping

Genre: Post-Punk, Lo-fi Rock, Alternative Rock

When it comes to pop music, it’s not the size of the dog, but the fight in him that makes a band beloved by fans. Essentially, when committing to a particular style, groups all take a secret oath.

The pledge to obey the commandments of that genre. If they get bored, unless they’re Ween, it’s polite that they at least make the decision to alter their name. 

What got to be known as post-punk was built on the idea that youthful guitar music could include any sort of ideas. Songs could a broad range of topics. No grooves or playing styles were to be disregarded. That was the theory, at last. In reality, most of the groups ended up sounding rather samey, like a university churning out Joy Division graduates every few years. 

But, there are ways to play around with that format as Vincent & the Noise prove. No, they aren’t reinventing the wheel and they most certainly sound like Joy Division. However, there’s a glint of real intelligence and ambition to the poetry of the lyrics and the stadium sized-arrangement. Vincent sounds like a man with a gun relentlessly chasing the Editors around, knowing they’ll have to tire one day. 

A good song is a good song. It’s a very delicate balance to take an established set of parameters and create something highly listenable. The band does this with Lover, I Am Sleeping.

Scott Klein – Jesse

Genre: Alternative Rock

Don’t pay money for a one on one masterclass with any of your heroes. Sure, you might end up learning some real nifty tricks of the trade. Yes, the connection and all the others born from it may help you in your career. Besides, the thrill of meeting your hero may feed your passion for your own work for years to come. 

However, almost certainly, you won’t like one aspect of what you find. Once they’ve told you their secrets, you’ll realize that you knew all the information all along. Few of the great masters perform acts of true, unexplainable magic. They just perform the rudiments really well, they judge the situation excellently and they tailor their strategy accordingly. 

While you may have been busy trying to invent a new genre, Scott Klein has learned how to carve his name into an old one. Jesse is 90s alt-rock par excellence complete with tense guitars in the verse, melodic lines in the chorus, and the mysterious lyrics that lend themselves to the kind of video accompaniment that might get featured every hour on MTV. The really good ones know how to properly use the information that is already out there.