photo by Horatio Baltz; photo courtesy of Video Age and Throwin’ Bo’s

Album Review of Video Age: Away from the Castle

I found Video Age‘s album while diving down a Bandcamp rabbit hole. After far too many near-misses (and complete misses), I stumbled upon Video Age’s Away from the Castle, and it was not merely good but interesting and new enough that I reached out to the band to get a review copy. I am impressed Away from the Castle‘s funky, disco-influenced, laid-back, light, old-style pop smoothness, steeped in ’70s pop cheerfulness with perhaps a few ’60s harmonies and the occasional ’80s new wave synth thrown in for good measure. It’s groovy music that makes you feel good.

image courtesy of Video Age and Throwin’ Bo’s

“Ready to Stay,” the first song on the album, is a great introduction. Its instrumental opening reminds me a little bit of Human League, but then the vocals are more of a smooth, tuneful groove atop a lush music bed. And even though the song feels good from the first listen, enticing the listener to offer repeated listens, it’s not until after several listens that the chorus hook really starts to dig in, often the sign of a song with staying power.

“Better Than Ever” has a similar groove but more tempo and energy; a theme that recurs throughout the album is a cohesive sound but enough variance to keep things interesting.

Title track “Away from the Castle” is also catchy and fun with a few new wrinkles. Then “Adrian” shows a new side of Video Age, with a funky Prince-esque influence figuring prominently in the song’s catchy style.

The smooth, breezy, dreamy “In the Breaks” follows, with a rolling, swaying feeling, driven in part by Video Age’s lyrical phrasing choices.

photo by Horatio Baltz; photo courtesy of Video Age and Throwin’ Bo’s

Pretenses of other influences are dropped on “Just Think,” a pure, cool disco number that gets more fun with every single listen. The Bee Gees would be proud. Try not to bounce in your chair – or even get up and dance – to this number. I dare you.

“Anything For You” slows things down again, with strong vocals and a rich sound bed.

“A Knight Shining With No Armor,” at just over a minute, is an electronic reminder of Video Age’s versatility, setting up its most ’80s new wave-meets-BritPop song on the album, “Is It Really Over?”

Finally, Video Age closes this exceptional, enjoyable, very original album with “Golden Sun,” kind of a synthy Alan Parsons Project-worthy number. The rhythm will have you swaying in your seat, enjoying the last few minutes of the album, feeling full of “golden” sunshine, perhaps ready to re-start the album from the beginning again.

Looking Ahead

You can catch Video Age on tour right now. According to the “Tour” page of the band’s website, tonight, March 22nd, they’re playing at the Treefort Music Fest in Boise, ID. West Coast and Mountain Time Zone shows follow, then a swing through Texas, leading to an April 13th show back home in New Orleans. Be sure to catch them on this tour if you can. This tour ran through Boston a couple weeks ago; I wasn’t paying attention, so I was completely unaware. Maybe I’ll catch the next Video Age tour.