Scars 3rd Degree
This song leads off like L7 meets 10,000 Maniacs (what a combination!) - Very Debby
Harry vocals - sparse melodically, intense, with a personal feel to them...
My complaint would be the excesssive monotone in the chorus... and that 'oh'
over and over again after the second chorus... Outside of that, a well produced
power pop song with good keyboard/guitar interaction
6.75 / 10
Anvil
Well here's a change of pace - trippy keyboards - Concrete Blondish vocals
think I don't need a hero - with a B52's feel - very funky - kind of
happy-go-lucky feel to it - Not sure if I like the horns or not - they're cute,
but I don't think they add that much to the song - except clutter - Still, not
bad...
6.5 / 10
Across the Border
Here's that Cure influence - dark, moody, spacious - except I like her voice much
better than Michael Smith... Mix is definitely rough - vocals are totally washed
out by that flanged guitar - Solo is grating, though, should've used less effect
on the axe for the method... My biggest complaint is that the song doesn't seem
to go anywhere - just plods along - and that guitar - lay off the Boss pedals, man!
This would be a pretty good song were it not for those two issues...
4.8 / 10
Overall
Valoo is an interesting pop band with a wide variety of influences displayed in their
music... Their production suffers from a lack of balance, but the strength of the
material overcomes that problem for the most part - I look forward to hearing more
great things from Valoo in the future as they improve their studio skills...
Don't take my word for it, though - check 'em out here
