The Velocet, A Quick and Dirty Guide to War

Normally I can’t stand it when bands use polysyllabic words too much, but The Velocet pulls it off on A Quick and Dirty Guide to War. They use words like “circumstance” and “coronation” without even rhyming them with other words. And I’ve never even heard the word “childrening” before, but it’s in here, amidst some of the most interesting lyrics I’ve heard in a while.

If one were so inclined to read the liner notes, they’d read as if said lyrics were one long song/schizophrenic story, if that makes sense at all. On “Chinatown,” they begin with, “I’m hurtling home again / A sad device / At the precipice / Of something fake intelligent, my friend / Still I’m not through.” Nice. Then “O, Concertina” starts with, “And there’s a garden; / There’s a subway line / I’m cueing up the dominoes / To fall a second time.” Also nice. Or how about the aforementioned “Coronation”: “We lay black wreaths / Of circumstance / Three snakes weave / In and out of / Chance’s eyeball.” I’m not sure who that makes sense to, but there’s got to be someone out there. I personally find it fascinating.

So the guys in The Velocet swagger gracefully along like an edgier version of The Killers or a less grandiose Bloc Party. Their sound is sharp and refined, as if they’ve been doing this for years. The music is driving and somehow honest without being arrogant. They sound like what you’d expect a band named The Velocet to sound like: mean and passionate, like your ex-girlfriend. There’s lots of sweeping vocals and wavering feedback on the record, a very tightly produced one, and the guitar-work is punk-influenced and loud.

The band’s ’80s influence is subtle, unlike most bands from their genre these days. Sometimes Billy Idol glimmers through, sometimes it’s The Cure. But The Velocet sews it all together into a noisy, confusing, progressive spin. Vocals are layered over distorted wails and hollers better than anything I’ve heard as of late. The album keeps going and going and it builds momentum to some heartfelt instant, and then it’s time for the next song. The choruses are hard to differentiate from the bridges or the verses, but it works. The guys in The Velocet do a smashing job on A Quick and Dirty Guide to War. My only complaint is that it ends too quickly.