The Courtyard Cafe had quite a week last week, what with shows by The Mountain Goats and Hold Steady. This week though, comes The Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band.
The group, which has either the best or the stupidest name of 2009 (even while writing this I still can't make up my mind), recently put out their debut self-titled album. The album is a blast of indie-rock energy in the best way (and there are plenty of wrong ways to do it), fast drums, intertwined guitars and poppy melodies. Now, this may all sound very standard, and it's true they don't stray much from the formula, but the songs are good enough to stand up on their own.While the group is still very new (their drummer is 14 years old!), they are on their way to creating a sound of their own. Sure, they may veer a little bit too close to the likes of The New Pornographers or Ra Ra Riot, and not every song is a winner, but it's their first time out.
Songs like the waltz-punk "Masquerade" show signs of a bright future, and their guitar lines, especially on the song "Little Red Shoes," are subtly great. Instead of bashing them over your head, they noodle around and provide a strong counter melody to the main vocals.
It's good to see a band without a unique quirk to set them apart. These guys are playing music for the sake of playing music. They don't have a singer with a weird voice (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) or a high school orchestra feel (Arcade Fire at their most primitive). Nah, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band are just songwriters.
Now if only they had a name that matched the sound...
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, with Bess Rogers, will be performing at the Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union, Urbana, Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5, or $3 with a University of Illinois ID.
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