Mothers, Daughters, Sisters & Wives EP — Voxtrot
Playlouder
2006
Rating:


Voxtrot's first EP "Raised by Wolves" was "The Start of Something" good. Ramesh Srivastava's band has grown since its 2005 release, subduing much of its Belle and Sebastian twee-ness in favor of more complex melodies with kinetic energy and emotional depth. Building on the post-punk of The Cure and Stone Roses the band experimented with on "Raised by Wolves," the "Mothers, Daughters, Sisters & Wives EP" finds greater power in its rhythm section and restrained use of horns and strings.

On "Soft & Warm," the drums and trumpet swing and the guitars grumble as Srivastava sings lyrics like, "Everyone loves a man who lets the hardest people build him up and cut him down to loveable size." "Rise Up in the Dirt" moves along at a faster clip than usual for the medium-paced band, allowing the guitars to twist and curve while making room for some pounded notes on a piano.

The title track is a work of indie-pop greatness that should have The Shins and The New Pornographers looking over their shoulders. A lament for a world that's "ugly and thin" and turns its people "wasted and grey," Srivastava thinks that if "you've got a delicate heart" then "you would be smart / To keep yourself in a world of mothers, sisters, daughters and wives." The feminist sentiment is supported by a staggering melody that builds in intensity with layers of guitars that chime and percussion that drives at double-time during the chorus. The song is executed with such assurance of melody craft it leaves no doubt that Voxtrot isn't just at the start of something, but a band that has already arrived.

Posted Thursday, December 7, 2006

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/music/voxtrot/mothers.daughters.sisters.wives