CASSETTE REVIEW: VATS “Iridescent Intent” (MJMJ Records)

http://mjmjrecords.bandcamp.com/album/iridescent-intent

                From the second I press play on this cassette, it begins to have that familiar punk rock n roll garage sound that can only be described in one of two ways.   Unfortunately for most of the music that falls under this category, it does have either a bad side or good side to it and usually it ends up taking a turn for the worst.    Luckily for VATS (and for the thousands in attendance and the millions and millions at home) they just as quickly shift away from any traces of The Hives (who are like a disease for my ears) and find the sound similar to that of Tora! Tora! Torrance (whom were one of my favorites)

                As I make my way through the initial and brief misconception, what follows throughout these songs varies slightly in style but in names there are a few.   On some levels, and this comparison comes back more than once for me, these songs bring out a cross between The Clash and The B-52’s.   (Though, yes, both of those bands can come out separately as well at times)

                Other bands that can be highlighted in this punk rock n roll with an edge range from The Stooges, T-Rex and Sex Pistols to Stray Cats, Fugazi and Foo Fighters even.   Heck, there is even a little bit of Bruce Springsteen in here.   At the heart of it, this is a rock n roll tape with that quality to it that sets it apart from your normal happy time rock n roll. 

                Growing up, I had a lot of Bryan Adams tapes.   In all actuality, Bryan Adams has probably influenced my musical life in more ways than I give him credit for, but this isn’t about that—not right now.   I’ve always felt that Bryan Adams’ songs had this sort of underlying formula that could translate well in modern times if covered by modern bands.  (Has a hardcore band covered “Cuts Like a Knife” yet?)  One somewhat modern band called MxPx did cover “Summer of ‘69” once, but that seems like forever ago now.   VATS is somewhere in between that pop quality of Bryan Adams, yet not quite as whatever MxPx was either as VATS has a bit more punk in them and just layers I guess you’d say.

                It’s hard for me to describe this tape as a better version of Bryan Adams and expect that notion to make any sense, but this is something that I do like and when it is done correctly it can be quite good, as evident here.