Artist: Victor Talking Machine
Release: Had Enough (EP)
Release Date: Out Now
The first thing you may wonder about this band is what the hell their name means, and we’re completely stumped too – clearly the affect that Victor Talking Machine are going for. The band have recently unleashed their second release, a four track EP titled ‘Had Enough’.
Four tracks just isn’t enough to get a good feel of this bad as each one sounds quite similar to the last. As a generic indie rock group with strong melodies and mermerizing dream like vocals they score well but it really does sound like it could be one long fifteen minute track. The whole EP makes for completely laid back listening, the sort of thing you wouldn’t mind listening to before nodding off to sleep; in both the good and bad ways.
Title track (and opener) ‘Had Enough’ opens with a sweet tickling guitar riff and sweet vocals. As the track progresses the melody becomes stronger and the guitars are moved to the forefront of the track, sadly the drums are a light bashing in the background which often get lost. But it’s all about the vocals; the sort of sound which is reminiscent of the bands that play early on the NME Radio 1 stage at Reading/ Leeds Festival. They have that summertime festival sound which would work perfectly well on a hot summers day- who knows what next summer may bring.
The EP then plays into second track ‘Muggy Jane’ which is really very similar in most ways to opener except for the fact that the guitars have a bit more of a rock edge to them. The band have included a live version of ‘Penny Arcade’ on the EP which moves them into the psychedelic rock territory with spaced out vocals over soft guitars and a rolling rhythm section. The heavier guitars do crash in a minute or so into the track, but being over six minutes in length there is a chance you may just get fed up and fast forward to the final track.
For an EP with only four tracks it’s a bit disappointing that the final track is just a re-working of the first one, a dub remix of ‘Had Enough’ closes the EP. The band certainly have potential but perhaps next time they need to seriously re-think their track choices.
5/10
Reviewer: Rhian Westbury
