VHS or Beta - Bring on the Comets
With no bad songs, and a sound that fits any occasion, you'll find yourself listening to Bring on the Comets multiple times.
Review by Dack

Although right now the format war gives you the choice of HD DVD or Blu-ray, one band reminds us of one of the first format wars. VHS or Beta has a sound that's hard to describe, sounding like if you took The Cure, Weezer, Talking Heads, and Daft Punk and stuck them in a blender. You'd pour yourself a unique and tasty drink afterwards.

The short opening track to VHS or Beta's latest album "Bring on the Comets" sets the tone of the entire album -- a 1980's Rock/Modern Rock/Electronic crossover. Love in my Pocket sounds very much like a Weezer song from their 1990's period - it is a melodic song that often changes tempo with a very memorable break from the vocals that features a cool guitar riff that occurs a few times. "She Says" has a softer feel, and has a chorus which is rarely sung in many modern songs. The first single from "Bring on the Comets" is the catchy Can't Believe A Single Word, a memorable song with plenty of different instruments and tempo changing. Like many "VHS or Beta" songs, all of the instruments and vocals blend perfectly together and form a great melody. VHS or Beta doesn't force the lyrics, they rightly let the instruments do the talking when needed.

Following the great Can't Believe a Single Word is the best song on the album, Burn it All Down, a great mix of electronic and rock. Burn it All Down has a great sounding main beat that sounds like what you'd hear in a Daft Punk song. Surprisingly, the electronic beat doesn't carry the song, instead being replaced with a guitar version of the beat giving the song that much more depth. Burn it All Down is the most danceable song on the album, and would be a great second single for the band. A song that sounds like it's right out of the 80's, Take it Or Leave It pays great homage to the best of the era, while staying a unique song with a great chorus. The first tender cut, Bring on the Comets (sharing the name with the album it's on) is a beautiful track containing great lyrics and a perfectly placed acoustic guitar that works with the beat and other instruments in the song. Following the tender prettier sounding mood that Bring on the Comets set, Fall Down Lightly is a very impressive song that manages to also be catchy. Time Stands Still has one of the coolest sounding and perfectly placed guitar riffs I've heard in awhile, being perfectly led to by the lyrics. The song leads into a really great chorus that has an optimistic feel to it It feels, and then goes back into the guitar riff/vocal combination. The song feels like you are in a struggle, that by the end of the song you prevail in. The album comes to a close with The Stars Where We Came From, not a very memorable or intricate song, but it serves as a great album closer.

VHS or Beta is a very impressive band that pays homage to some of the best 80's bands, while still staying unique and fresh enough to not feel like they are just copying the sound. Letting the instruments play a bigger role than just keeping the beat, it gives the album a refreshing sound. Although it may not be groundbreaking, Bring On the Comets is a memorable album and VHS or Beta's best effort thus far. With no bad songs, and a sound that fits any occasion, you'll find yourself listening to Bring on the Comets multiple times.

Top Songs:
1. Burn it All Down
2. Can't Believe a Single Word
3. Fall Down Lightly

						8.3/10 (Great)