Original bands, original music from Lincoln & Beyond

CD Review - Vinyl Collide - Bright Lights Big City

Thursday, 29 July 2010

CD EP

1. Bright Lights Big City
2. All Falls Down
3. Gold Dust

Review by Katrina Pierce

2nd July 2006

I will make no secret of the fact that I’m a bit of a Vinyl Collide fan – and I blush like a 13-year old at a McFly album signing whenever I catch sight of their front man. However, I will try to retain some measure of professionalism throughout this review but I suspect that it may become the most hilariously biased thing you will ever read. Andrew Gilligan will have nothing on me by the time this is written.

Title track, ‘Bright Lights Big City’, begins with Matt‘s picked guitar strings introducing us to bass and drums before the immaculately coiffed Stu Wright steps in after 18 seconds. His vocals are laced with an effect similar to those that shroud Julian Casablanca’s’ voice on the first two Strokes albums. And we know that is no bad thing. Stu spits lines like "I may need an education but I don't need it from you" amongst other laments while Dean Jackson and Luke Redout's rhythm section beats persistently. This is a song about aspirations and desires beyond the basic and it grabs at your heart, asking you to come away with it.  

‘All Falls Down’ is ballsy and driven with alliterative lyrics and spiky guitars being thrown all over the shop. Lyrics like “You can have the world if you tried a little harder/ You could have the world if you tried a little more” continue the theme of ambition. The second half sees all four members of the band competing against each other as the dynamic changes to an unusual and unpredictable time signature. The flourishes of snare from Luke’s kit are particularly memorable.

‘Gold Dust’ is a truly exceptional song. I love this track, if only for the fantastic line of “You make my nose bleed”. The content is reflective and downhearted with admissions like “I drink alone and only I know why/ And I get tired of myself sometimes” but allude to an undertone of realistic romance. Everything about this track, from the spine-tingling intro and the bouncing basslines to the gloriously succinct lyricism are fantastically crafted, designed to make you want to dance and sing your lungs out.

Vinyl Collide should be huge. They encapsulate the sound of charm, youth and belligerent ambition set in the midlands, determinedly seeking something more than the “leave school-get wed-have kids-work-die” small-town ethic that’s so easy to fall into. A search for that which is out of the ordinary is an element that I, and probably most of you, can more than relate to.

These lads are like a better looking, less aggressive Kasabian… Actually, forget that simile - Vinyl Collide are just better than bands like Kasabian. Their musicianship is better, their lyrical narrative actually makes sense and they have superior haircuts.

We are sadly losing Vinyl Collide to the New Yorkshire scene of Leeds. Make sure you get this EP into your lives before they go and get signed and all famous on us.

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