photo by Jimmy Del Ponte; photo courtesy of Viruette

Album Review of Viruette: Your Lacuna

Viruette is a Boston-based indie rock outfit with a very cool, uniquely original sound. I dug into Viruette’s off-kilter delivery last year in my review of the band’s EP Waylaid in Aspic. Well, Your Lacuna is thirteen tracks of offbeat alt-rock uniqueness, allowing Viruette to explore more song formats, vocal patterns, and stylistic influences. It’s a feast for the ears. And hellish to try to describe. (Yeah, um, thanks for that, guys.) Seriously, though, if anyone ever approaches this sound, now I’ll be able to say “well, they sound kind of like Viruette.” So who does Viruette sound like? A little bit of a lot of people but not a lot of anyone. Tuneful, lyric-driven, progressive/experimental alt rock, I suppose. I’m really just trying to avoid repeating what I wrote last year, but what the heck, Viruette’s music is, as I said in my Waylaid in Aspic review, “long form, loosely structured, tunefully-sung musical poetry with an edge.”

image courtesy of Viruette

Viruette is Harry Bee (vocals/guitar), George Heffernan (bass), and Andrew Ring (drums), with Harry the songwriter for most of the tracks on Your Lacuna, with George also writing a couple songs.

Like a baseball team giving their starters a night off, Viruette uses an opener, the 38-second, mildly floating table-setter “I Bloodied My Fingers,” to kick things off on Your Lacuna.

“You Are the Belletrist” brings on the first real dissonance and frantic vocal delivery, very clearly diving into Viruette’s trademark style, a bit frantic with tempo changes, unique musical interludes, and a raw, frenetic energy.

The first single from this album, “Big Fat Nothing,” one of several favorites in this collection, comes next, featuring one of my favorite lyrical runs, “I vomited twice at Euston and once in bed.” The song’s combination of topics and very-on-brand cadence-driven vocals in which thoughts, lyrical phrases, and vocal phrases are matched up at best randomly… well, that’s what you’ll come to expect and enjoy from Viruette. It makes the band unique and fun to listen to.

“Detach” combines Viruette’s style with a jazz lounge vibe. The press release says bossa nova, which is a great description, but one that escaped me until I read the promo material. I’m guessing this song has the most memorable lyric on Your Lacuna; namely, “You are the best ex-Soviet lesbian I ever met.” Top that!

photo by Jimmy Del Ponte; photo courtesy of Viruette

“Something for the Dread II” takes the mood down a bit, but “Faceblind” brings the energy right back up with a really fun mish-mash of lyrics that… well, I’m not gonna turn this review into a collection of my favorite lyrics. Just listen for the lyrics when you hear these songs.

Viruette continues through the rest of the record by altering tempos and moods, with experimental music arrangements and well-placed use of dissonance supporting its creative, lyric-heavy vocal delivery.

Several more favorites populate the back half of the record. For example, there’s the floaty, not quite dreamy “Capture,” which might have the best shot at crossover success with ’80s/’90s mainstream alt-rock fans.

The album’s second single, “Lamenter,” is airier and more jazzy than most songs on the disc but features cool subject matter and a word I actually had to look up. “Threnody.” So much cooler than “lament.” Plus it sort of rhymes with “remedies,” which made it the perfect choice for this song. (If “threnody” starts finding its way into my writing, now, Viruette, it’ll be all your fault!)

“Maimed” is another standout song, probably the one song on the record I sway along with. And I’m now singing along with the lyric “in a recursive way.” Yes, in falsetto, obviously. But the more obvious singalong lyric is “I’m getting maimed again.” Though not entirely standard, the song structure of “Maimed” may be the most straightforward on the record. I know I love Viruette’s uniqueness, but here they prove they could clearly excel at more standard alt-rock fare. (Keep in mind, this would be the least standard song on most of those bands’ records, so “normal” is a relative term.)

“Anhedonia” and “Wrecked Car” close the record, the final two of the thirteen unique songs, with Viruette’s original sound not quite like any other you’ve heard, yet not so far outside musical convention to make it truly alien. In fact, if you’re going to become a Viruette fan, it’s probably because you dig the band’s one-of-a-kind overall sound. It’s interesting from the start, then it grows on you. Plus, beyond just being a cool recorded listen, Viruette’s style suggests an exceptionally fun live show, particularly at a seedier-than-you-might-think college rock venue. Viruette’s Instagram account mentions a couple opportunities to see the band live in the near future. Check ’em out!

photo by Jimmy Del Ponte; photo courtesy of Viruette

EP Review of Viruette: Waylaid in Aspic

Viruette‘s Waylaid in Aspic can best be described as long form, loosely structured, tunefully-sung musical poetry with an edge. Viruette’s music is a form of progressive alt-rock, with songs that are lyric-heavy and musically engaging. The style reminds me a bit of the energetic alt-rock I heard occasionally while getting my music journalism start in Boston many, many years ago, with twists and turns that keep things interesting. And all those words – as a singer, I’d have to devote weeks of study to them if I wanted to remember more than half of them! – serve as another instrument, with an unexpected vocal cadence providing a slightly off-balance aspect to the tunes on …Aspic.

cover artwork by Adam Kane; image courtesy of Viruette

Waylaid in Aspic‘s five tracks each offer something appealing. If I had to pick a favorite, I’m partial to EP-opener “Sick Hominid,” with its tempo changes, variety of vocal stylings, and somewhat haunting vibe.

“Superanima,” though, is sometimes my preferred track, as it plugs along at a fun pace, has a singalongable “doo-doo, doo-doo” part, and has lyrics like “Superior mama needs a man with a real superanima, a madonna-fied interior. That lab rat’s kissing cats, and now I’m so alone. I want to drag you down…” No, I don’t know what it all means. But man, I take my hat off to the creative wordsmithing.

“Pollyanna (You’re My Billboard),” the song from whose lyrics the EP title is nabbed, is a little milder musically than the first two tracks but sports an off-kilter carnival midway sound that adds variety to this cohesively offbeat, exceptionally engaging EP.

photo by Jimmy Del Ponte; photo courtesy of Viruette

“She Dreams in Green Screen” offers an exit ramp from the carnival via a funhouse mirror vibe before the collection closes with the fun, energetic “The Water Beckons,” probably the most broadly-accessible track in the group, its pop-friendly finesse rooted in a timely pop-rock vibe but with a slightly punk edge. The whole EP is a great listening experience, but if you need to introduce a non-artistic friend to Viruette, perhaps start with “The Water Beckons.”

While the band’s earlier single releases of “Viruette,” “Call Me Annabel,” and “Maimed” offered an interesting glimpse into Viruette’s sound, the longer-form canvas of a five-song EP, the ensemble’s first multi-song release, provided a chance to take listeners on a journey, a goal the guys accomplished with aplomb. I can’t wait to hear Viruette’s next creation.

I’ve not yet heard Viruette perform live, but I fully expect this music to translate into a raucous evening of ear-ringing fun. I don’t see any mention of upcoming gigs, but there’s an events tab on the band’s Facebook page you should check periodically. And I see the band occasionally promotes its gigs via Instagram, as well.