1. Ramona Loves VJ
2. Sum1 2CU
3. Plan B
The obvious follow-up to their ‘Red’ and ‘Yellow’ demos, this latest ‘Green’ demo sees Vatican Jet develop their rock/pop formula and the result is something even more interesting than the previous two CDs.
Track 1 ‘Ramona Loves VJ’ is essentially a Pixies inspired instrumental intro that begins with some ear-catching feedback before fading into an appealing guitar line straight out of the Joey Santiago text book. You can vaguely pick up the lead singer’s vocals repeating the title of the song but these are sacrificed in favour of the simple rocking of the rhythm section and, of course, the aforementioned guitar line. All this builds impressively into a smouldering finale – both imitation and innovation go hand in hand here to produce an enjoyable tune.
Track 2 ‘Sum1 2CU’ appears to pick up where the Pixies theme left off with a very grandiose sounding guitar intro but things gradually get more poppy after the first verse and repetition of the initial riff. This is an interesting mixture of different influences and the backing vocals work well. My only minor criticism would be that the guitar work slightly overshadows the vocals in terms of how loud they come out in the mix. This is undoubtedly a great track though with lots of different bits that fit together well, including a really floaty, ethereal section that’s executed brilliantly.
Track 3 ‘Plan B’ keeps the stomp-along quality of VJ’s music going and features some vocal ‘oh-ohs’ that the Kaiser Chiefs would be proud of! Again, the backing’s sublime and this track captures a certain live feel that won’t do the band any harm in terms of getting people to their gigs. The way in which the track ends with the vocals pushed to the fore aptly encapsulates how Vatican Jet have managed to make the overall production of this demo more interesting whilst retaining a high standard when it comes to the obvious quality of their material.
Will Gray
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