Hardly groundbreaking (but then what is these days) however The Good Luck Joes make the right sort of fist with What Do You Think of That Noise? 

By and large, if we were to answer the question posed by the title we might answer “mostly harmless”. The Good Luck Joes hopscotch in and out of territory long claimed by Wilco, INXS, and Coldplay. They never quite seem to claim the ground that they want for themselves. One song sees them playing pub rockers another pumps for stadium (candle in the air) sway-a-long. The last song “Butterflies” sounds a lot like that song by David Gray with the incongruous electronic beats. Not that there is anything wrong with being eclectic. I for one am always complaining about how bands these days play it too safe. It is just that What Do You Think of That Noise ends up sounding more like a end of contract retrospective than that “difficult” third album.

This review was posted on popmatters.com

https://www.popmatters.com/the-good-luck-joes-what-do-you-think-of-that-noise-2495692186.html

Lets be honest, Say Hi To Your Mom is largely the work of one man, and Eric Elbogen’s (for that is his name) fourth foray into the world of pop music is a strange, beguiling affair. Not to say that the previous three (Ferocious Mopes, Numbers and Mumbles, and Discosadness) were run of the mill releases. On the contrary, they were filled with wondrous and peculiar observations on life and relationships, masked as throwaway collage-boy poetry. A fine example of this being “Let’s Talk About Spaceships” from Numbers and Mumbles. This tune sidesteps that uncomfortable silence that preludes the we-need-to-talk-about-our-relationship talk by simply saying “LOOK BEHIND YOU, A SPIDER!”

This time round Elbogen is preoccupied with the music of the night, Bela Lugosi style. Impeccable Blahs is an album with a concept (rather than a concept album); all of the songs are about vampires and their relationships with their human prey. The sleeve notes are clear that we are not talking about the “… creepy, goth vampires but rather people just like you and me who happen to get their nourishment from drinking blood.” In as much, Elbogen plucks one of literature’s most maligned inventions from the night sky and grounds it in his own version of the real world. Vampires, if Say Hi To Your Mom is to be believed, have feelings and needs just like the rest of us. They are funny too.

Lyrically, this record is as droll as it is observant, cutting in the “reality” of becoming a vampire with the poetic illusion. For example in “Blah Blah Blah” the vampire breathes to his potential victim, “If you want, I’ll give you eternal life. Well not so much life, but have you ever seen a good zombie movie? Well like that, but you’ll be smarter and you’ll stay 23.” It is this mixture of off-the-wall humour and crackingly catchy choruses that make this record such an enjoyable listen. It cannot fail to bring a smile to your face.

The textual content is counterpoint, with stripped bare musical arrangements that are almost so unadorned that they are in places missing altogether. It is at once a mixture of simple guitar lines, undemanding quirky electronic sounds, and lush layered puree. Still, this straightforwardness really kinda works. The music has a sincere personal feel, an honesty that you rarely find in pop these days. This may mean that it doesn’t appeal to everyone’s tastes. Those that like their pop all bloated with multi-part melodies may find this to be an unsatisfying morsel which will not sate their gourmet tastes. These people should get over themselves.

Most things about this release are about simplicity, from the pink artwork barely adorned with a small bat and a kooky drawing of a vamp, to the musical content described above. However, it would be a real mistake to think that this sparseness is detrimental. The structure of the 10 songs on Impeccable Blahs is pretty perfect. They may not be the shiniest buttons in the pop box, but they are the kind that exhibit an unusual quality that makes you want to keep them and take them out every once in a while to look at them.

In the grand scheme of things, this record is unlikely to prevent any wars. However, we live in an unjust world full of evil things that want to suck the life from us, whether that be taxes, Big Brother or vampires. So, any piece of work that goes some way to set the balance right by bringing these things to our attention so that we can snigger at them (well actually ourselves) is, quite frankly, more than welcome.

This was originally posted on popmatters.com

https://www.popmatters.com/say-hi-to-your-mom-impeccable-blahs-2495687724.html

11 – 11 is about as perfect as one can get for a debut record. If guitar-based pop music is your thing, this should touch your buttons and get you on your feet. Only one of the 14 songs on this album is over the European legal limit for pop songs (Brussels finally ratified the “three-and-a-half-minute rule”). Voicst’s music erupts from your speakers full speed ahead, with a poptastic, guitar-heavy slab of — wait for it — songs. There are no fillers, no masturbatory guitar solos: just meaty, powerful, pop tunes. Drummer Joppe Molenaar describes their sound as being, “…somewhere between Beyonce and the Melvins,” and he really is right on the money.

“Porn”, with its refrain “…if you want to stick with me, you’d better like porn the way I do,” encapsulates their energy and attitude in just over three minutes. They have a “don’t give a f…” manner that percolates through the otherwise sunny, smiling demeanor of their music. Compared to the fluffy pop tunes that mainstream labels float our way, Voicst are porn. Indeed, if this album were a movie, there wouldn’t be much of a storyline, and no grand tracking shots or fancy camera angles. It would be straight to the “money shot” as soon as possible, and then on to another similarly successful set piece. They don’t waste time; they give us what we want and then move on and then give it again and again. Their music shows incredible staying power, and thankfully without a moustache or spotty behind in sight.

This Dutch trio is comprised of Tjeerd Bomhof (guitars and vocals), Joppe Molenaar (drums and samples), and Sven Woodside (bass and vocals). Musically, they are crazy horses from the same stable as Supergrass, who also shook up the pop world in the UK by writing staggeringly catchy, happy tunes when most of the bands around them were busy gazing in the direction of their navels. Like Supergrass, Voicst devote their own manic energy (Voicst means “manic energy” in South African slang) to bright and humorous tunes that make you glad to be alive, while also giving you something to think about.

This guitar-based outing has enough modern tinges to appeal to your discerning “noughties” kid. There are funky drum loops and samples that are effortlessly placed, strewn around the recording like scatter cushions. They don’t impact the overall décor, but add that certain “I don’t know what”… or as we say here in Holland, je ne sais quoi. So, while being succinct in their songwriting, these Amsterdammers also have a judicious ear for what sounds fit, without losing the desired impact by noodling off into silly-world. The album contains 13 great songs and one brief instrumental. Any record that contains proper songs played with such wanton enthusiasm is worth your hard-earned cash, whatever the currency.

It should come as no surprise that this stunning debut has won acclaim and awards for Voicst in their native Europe, the 3voor12 Award for “best Dutch album in the last twelve months” being only one of them. However, I cannot agree with this accolade. To limit the praise to only Dutch albums is just plain potty talk. 11 – 11 is the best album of 2006 so far, and will certainly be up there in my end-of-year top five. The bar has been raised and the gauntlet is down. I would love to hear a better collection of songs this year, but I won’t be holding my breath.

originally posted on pop matters.com

https://www.popmatters.com/voicst-11-11-2495682003.html