Viva Voce - Get Yr Blood Sucked Out
By: Billy Kenefick |
Sunday November 05, 2006 |
 
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Genrerock PublisherBarsuk Records External Links |
It's good to know that when you get married, you can produce something else besides kids, debt and repressed anxiety. In the case of Viva Voce, you can get married, write, produce and record your own rock albums! That's right, Anita (guitar) and Kevin Robinson (drums) sing together, tour together, rock together and apparently live in Portland together.
The inverse of White Stripes? Not hardly, but you can't deny some similarities. Both started off in the Midwest (Detroit, Tennessee) and perform as a drum and guitar duo. In Viva Voce, however, the guitar hero is Mrs. Robinson and there is no confusion about their relationship. They're married, and as evident in song #7 on their third major release, Get Yr Blood Sucked Out, they "do not fuck around." Thanks for telling us.
Their music blows me away. Not in the same way that, say, Slayer might blow someone away, but nonetheless it is far from a hollow sound despite being performed by only two members. In terms of who sings the lead, they seem to be pretty fair and balanced, and their musical contributions work together nicely. The guitar of Mrs. Robinson is brewed extra-dark at times, but still rings clear as a pilsner - a nice dichotomy between acoustic and psychedelic overdrive. Kevin's drums range from a solid, heavy Bonham pump to folksier, earthy sounds. Some tracks are brooding, roving and rainy while others sparkle with capered strings and bright pianos. The bottom line - you'll never really expect what's next in each song, but it will have a great melody.
My favorite is track four, "Drown them Out," which makes me want to run in the woods or ride bikes down mountains. I don't know why, but it makes me want to run around and play outside.
Nothing disgusts people more than seeing an attractive, happy couple, especially a happy couple with kickass jobs. In the case of Viva Voce, however, I think we can all take an exception.
