Labels: Polyvinyl
Review by: Andy Malcolm
I’ve tried, and given up. And tried again, and had difficulty progressing past the first side. And I think I’ll call it a day now because me and Aloha aren’t getting on too well. I’ve tried in the day, I’ve tried late at night, but this laid back, jazzy, noodly indie rock fails to click. And at last with this listen I have worked out why; it’s the unfeasibly irritating sound of the (*scrabbling around looking for record cover*) vibraphone. It pisses me off no end! The vocals are very soothing and pleasant, and the rhythms and beats are fine, but this ping-pong-ping-bing-pling noise that infiltrates the whole way through the first side of the album and gnaws at my ears like a rat with very sharp teeth and a taste for ears, is driving me nuts.
Of course, the record isn’t a total garbage pit. There are some very nice parts. Particularly on side B. Listening to it now makes me wish I had made it past side A more often. “A Hundred Stories” is an incredible post-emo twinkle fest that almost single handedly saves the record. Definite some fancy jazz inflected Van Pelt-isms to be heard on the flip-side. Then on “Don’t Sleep” they bounce a toe-tapping song very nicely, in a vaguely Braid-esque fashion. Some timid piano between the first two songs also does the trick for me, but they are straight back into that ebola virus like, brain eating vibraphone sound almost straight away. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not for a single moment doubt the talent of this band, they play everything well and the guy certainly can sing. BUT! That doesn’t mean I have to give it a good review if in the duration of my listens it caused me to me become an axe-wielding vibraphobe hater intent on destroying every damn one of the things (even those that broke down YEARS ago) in the known world.
I guess, if you fancy something like Karate, but featuring the most sanity stealing instrument ever invented, then check out Aloha. Or if you just like jazzed up indie rock that can slip you off to sleep in the dead of the night. 3am preferably. But for me? This record is not quite. This record is simply not quite. And but for one problem, it would have been great.
As a footnote, please – sign my petition at http://www.anti-vibraphone.com – we must destroy this infernal machine! Or face the inevitable horrific consequences.