photo by Rip Rowan; photo courtesy of Skye Media

Album Review of Vanessa Peters: Modern Age

Vanessa Peters’ Modern Age clocks in at the electrically-charged, guitar-driven, rocky edge of singer-songwriter fare. Modern Age will perhaps remind you of some of Liz Phair’s hits from the early aughts, but, as was the case with Liz, the songs are a bit more nuanced and adventurous than they initially let on. The songs are fully-produced but with a lighter touch, with plenty of crunch and grit, but a bit of open space among the instruments, too – it’s not necessarily noticeable unless you listen closely, but it does nudge the emphasis more toward the vocals, the lyrics, and the core songwriting, very appropriately for such a thoughtfully-assembled collection of songs.

Modern Age kicks off with its title track, my very favorite of the disc’s many outstanding cuts. “Modern Age” catchily laments modernization’s elimination of simpler pleasures: “That’s the way it goes in today’s modern age. As soon as it’s made, it gets through away. I’m running on a drained battery, and I really miss the way that it used to be.” For a song of regret and nostalgia, it’s quite peppy and fun.

image courtesy of Skye Media

Next up, with an emotionally heavier tone, though still driven by some nicely distorted guitar strumming, there’s something nihilistic about lines like “I can’t rearrange these deck chairs one more time,” as “Make Up My Mind” tackles modern dysfunctions, seemingly both large and small, in the context of pondering self-examination.

“Crazymaker” is a lot more uptempo, with a heavy strum-driven rhythm putting the song through its paces but still sporting the same sort of not-quite-sarcastic but oh-so-clever lyrics.

“Valley of Ashes” slows things down to a more plodding tempo but features the sort of neat little, playful, old-school guitarslinger riffs and rambling noodling you might expect from guitar rockers when they slow the music down to a bare-bones near-crawl. Guitar noir, maybe?

“Hood Ornament” picks up the tempo again, detailing life as a woman slingin’ axe in the rock ‘n roll boys’ club, featuring lyrics like “Took my place up on the stage at the big event, all alone in a crowd of men. One of them looked me up and down and said, ‘I thought you were the hood ornament.'” Seriously, dude?! Yeah, this is more than just another catchy mid-tempo tune.

photo by Rip Rowan; photo courtesy of Skye Media

“The Band Played On” is another hooky, lightly instrumented rocker, though I mostly just find myself singing along to the lyric “we can’t give up just ’cause the bastards won.”

“Never Really Gone” suggests you may not really be able to leave your hometown behind, even if you’re sure you’ve escaped. (Does that scare you as much as it scares me?) “The Weight of This,” a song of lament, follows.

“Yes” thumps along knowingly, a song about being passed over for deserved opportunities, while “The Try” is a deceptively cheerful song driven by a recurring, reverberating guitar riff that almost – but not quite – rivals the vocals for in-song dominance.

The recurring sense of optimism that seems to be an undercurrent beneath many of the other songs’ cynicism bursts forth (a bit) in the final track, “Still Got Time.” I mean, you won’t find the opening lyrics “Well, get a hold of yourself, ’cause the world isn’t ending yet” on a Hallmark card anytime soon, but after that beginning, the song takes a decidedly hopeful turn. As a result, after some of the emotionally heavy song subjects, this disc – an exceptionally fun listen throughout – will end up putting a smile on your face, leaving you excited to face the world. You know, excited within reason, anyway.

Beginning to end, Modern Age is a cool journey, a thoughtful, well-written album. I knew from nearly the beginning of “Modern Age” that I needed to share this album with anyone who would listen, and I’ll listen to that song alone on repeat a few times in a row, but the disc contains several other gems. Give it a few spins and you’ll find your own favorites.

photo by Brent Baxter; photo courtesy of Skye Media

What’s Next?

There are no upcoming shows listed on the “Shows” page of Vanessa’s website, but check back to see if/when some are added. You may also want to follow her Facebook and her Instagram accounts for upcoming news and events.