:: Viv - Flawed

Viv

Rock may well be the new rock, but we are close to saturation point. So it is reassuring to know, that regardless of the current musical fashion, there are bands like Viv who eschew the vogue for AC/DC hand-me-down riffs and stick to their indie-pop guns. The first half of Flawed, (Viv‘s 2nd offering after 2001's The Viv White Album) is chock-full of indie-pop par excellence. “Friends” skips along with the sort of joie de vivre that could convince you the sun is shining even on the cloudiest of days. “Did I” inhabits the dreamy winsome territory of The Shins’ debut, and “Suzanne's One Good Eye” sounds like a bleary-eyed Lovey-era Lemonheads waking up in bed with Blind Melon. On other tracks, older influences bubble to the surface. Listening to the title track's strummed acoustic guitar and electric slide intro, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were listening to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, whilst “Shine” takes lead guitar lessons from U2. Disappointingly, in the 3rd quarter Viv seem to run out of steam, even stooping to pick up Radiohead's Kid A outtakes for the minute long intro to “Green”, before thankfully finding their stride again for the all important final quarter. Despite the couple of flat spots, there is plenty to enjoy here, and Viv manage to combine a variety of influences from both sides of the Atlantic without resorting to blatant plagiarism, which is more than can be said for certain members of new rock's vanguard. It does, however, remain to be seen whether Viv can carve out a more unique sound to prevent them from becoming just another of indie-pop's multitude of also-rans.