Saturday 31 May 2014

USA Out Of Vietnam - Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes - Album Review

Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes cover art

Album Type:Album
Date Released: May 7th 2014
Label: Aurora Borealis

Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes track listing:

1.Archangel 10:14
2.You Are A Comet, You Are On Fire 07:47
3.Asphodel I/1322 14:18
4.Leg of Lamb 13:09
5.Tonight, The Dead Walk 14:11

Bio:

USA Out Of Vietnam have paired with Aurora Borealis to release their auspicious début Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes.

Their musical influences are both transparent and widespread, and include black metal, doom, drone, minimalist composition, sludge, noise, post rock, shoe-gaze, dream pop, nineties psychedelia and classic seventies radio dial pop. Particularly transparent is this love of pop music, dense seventies-style production, and harmonized vocals that swerves around hairpin turns. If you really wanted to try to harness this slippery eel you could say that the band’s sound is as equally informed by the stacked production and pop savvy of Jeff Lynne’s E.L.O. as it is by the crushing heavy drones of Sunn O)))).

On their début, USA Out of Vietnam proudly boast of their love of lush harmony and infectious melody but also like to push past the 3 minute traditional pop format with 10 minute epics - psychedelic, in the truest sense of the word.

With over 15 guest musicians appearing on Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes (including Montreal singer/songwriter Patrick Watson who contributes treated vocal loops on two songs here), their début is vast in it's scope, and abundant with rich sounds. Brass sections elbow up to detuned and distorted Marshall stacked guitars, spoken word sections appear in unlikely spaces, vocoder vocals appear within breaths of angelic choir vocals, vintage synth and sampled noises hover over lush string sections while a piano beds down with crushing Swans-style pummeling. The lyrics across the album mirrors the sound that surrounds them, with themes grasping towards redemption that search for a sliver of light hiding in the darkness.

Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes slowly reels the listener in as opposed to attacking them with ballast and decibels. USA Out of Vietnam have created an enveloping and vivid piece of work - but flush that incense and peppermint flotsam out of your head because USA Out of Vietnam insist that this trip is for real.

The Band Members

El Tigre, Fogman, Jordan Thomas Brown III, Son of Fogman, Blankie

Review:

USA Out Of Vietnam are a sell-proclaimed – Heavy, Psych, Doom, Epic Drone Pop band. And that's a very cool description to describe their unique and spellbinding new album - Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes. A mind-expanding hallucinogenic trippy ride that lasts for almost 60 mins or so.

First track – Archangel – channels the pop sensibility of ELO mixed with the heavy and hazy riffs of SLEEP jamming with Sunn 0))) – with heavy digitized vocals telling a spellbinding story that only propels your mind, body and soul into a sea of tranquillity.

I am not going to do a track by track review even if there are only 5 tracks but the first track – Archangel – justifies why this band have such an awesome reputation already. If you want thought provoking music elevated into greatness by heavy drone epic riffs then this this album has it all.

It's one of the most creative and unique sounding records I have heard in any year not just 2014. USA Out Of Vietnam write brilliant, quirky and catchy as hell doom pop tunes with slabs of Sludge Rock, Noise, Drone and 70s Classic Stadium Rock all holding it together.

If you're not physically moved by the dreamy riffs of – You Are A Comet, You Are On Fire – then you're either emotionally closed off or you're not breathing. Either way this song is pure harmonic pop perfection. Each band member bringing their own unique style to the party with all of them showing some highly impressive musical talent.

The album cover gives a strong indicator on what to expect on the album. The album does have it's fair share of dark nightmarish moments as well. So don't go expecting uplifting vibes all the way through as the band do have a darker creative side which they do show from time to time especially on the later stages of the album.

This is an album that will require multiple listens to get the full effect as it's an expansive journey with many hidden meanings and gems to discover within the musical madness currently going on. An incredible and richly rewarding experience that you rarely come across.

Brilliant and Highly Recommended.

Crashing Diseases and Incurable Airplanes is now available to buy DD/CD/Vinylfrom Aurora Borealis Recordings.

Check The Band From Links Below


Written by Steve Howe