REVIEW

Music Review: Via Audio - Say Something

Written by Charlie Doherty
Published November 16, 2007

This New York-based indie pop quartet met at Berklee College of Music in 2003, recorded a self-titled EP in 2004, and three long years later got signed to SideCho Records. Add to this the fact that Chris Walla of Death Cab For Cutie is a big fan of the band and that Jim Eno of Spoon produced their highly anticipated debut full-length Say Something (SideCho) and you've got a promising album the indie rock world will surely take notice of.

First song "Developing Active People" has slight delay tactics on guitar that could easily pass for Chris Walla's work with Death Cab (hence the unsurprising fact he's a VA fan). The bass guitar lines and inclusion of trumpets/horns on "Harder On Me" have the aura of recent Broken Social Scene. However, unlike that Canadian supergroup, this group of four doesn't need double digits worth of band members to put many layers of sound into their craft.

"Presents" is perhaps the catchiest one of them all, with its cutesy and infectious male/female vocals, short, electric guitar and keyboard spurts, a constant acoustic guitar melody, all performed over a constant, fast beat that rests only for a mere five seconds.

The slow, heavy, and crunchy chords of "Hazmat" recall Weezer, and the quieter understated melodies that end it are reminiscent of Pavement. The oscillating and tension-filled "Enunciation" shows off both the band and guitarist/singer Jessica Martins' versatility, going from quiet-loud-quiet vocals with relative ease over passive and kinetic minor (and uglier-sounding) melodies.

On my personal favorite "We Can Be Good," Martins sings, "If we try/I know that we can be good." Well, on just 11 tracks spanning 40 minutes, Via Audio, despite their apparent humbleness, proved they are very good at what they do. They went to a top music school after all, so they'd better be "good" at the very least!

What they've done with Say Something is make a very - for the most part - pumped up and listenable indie pop record for those with short attention spans. It's got some versatility, catchy tunes and impressive musicianship.

What more could you want? A perfect album, you say. There may be a couple of down moments on the record, but the fast pace and consistency of Say Something as a whole obscure any faults. It's an excellent debut, and fans of Death Cab For Cutie, Stars, or Magic Numbers will dig this without a doubt.

For more info on Via Audio and to buy their music or watch live performances, go to their Myspace page.

Pro musician and journalist of many stripes: most recently a sports/music analyst for BC mag on BlogTalkRadio.com and sports correspondent for Brookline TAB; music critic/op-ed contributor at Umass-Boston newspaper 'til '06; media analyst at 2004 DNC in Boston. chucko33.blogspot.com, myspace.com/charlied
Keep reading for information and comments on this article, and add some feedback of your own!
Buy from Amazon.com
Say Something Say Something
Via Audio
Music,
Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene
Broken Social Scene
Music,
Transatlanticism Transatlanticism
Death Cab for Cutie
Music,
Gimme Fiction Gimme Fiction
Spoon
Music,

Music Review: Via Audio - Say Something
Published: November 16, 2007
Type: Review
Section: Music
Filed Under: Review, Music: Recording, Music: Pop, Music: Indie Rock
Writer: Charlie Doherty
Charlie Doherty's BC Writer page
Charlie Doherty's personal site
Spread the Word
Like this article?
Email this
Submit to del.icio.us Save to del.icio.us
RSS Feeds
All RSS Feeds (240+)
Comments on this article
BC articles by Charlie Doherty
Review
Music: Recording
Music: Pop
Music: Indie Rock
All Music Articles
All Review articles
All BC articles
All BC Comments

Comments

Want comments emailed to you? No spam, promise! Address:

Add your comment, speak your mind

(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/70978)

Personal attacks are not allowed. Please read our comment policy.





Remember Name/URL?

Please preview your comment!

Fresh
Articles
Fresh
Comments