Brazilian band VIOLENT ATTITUDE IF NOTICED, or Vain for short, was formed back in 2008 and have steadily released new material ever since. They have two EPs and two studio albums to their name so far, with a new EP in the works these days. “Eight” is the second of their full length studio productions, and was released in 2014.
While I understand that the band is trying to reach a progressive rock interested audience with their material, my perceptions about them due to the material on this album is aligned in a slightly different direction actually. While I can hear some progressive rock tendencies here and there, and then perhaps primarily from the neo-progressive aspects of it, my main impression is that this is a band that have taken a deep dive into a few other genres that were popular at the same time, namely new wave and post-punk.
The songs on this album is an eclectic bunch, so actually pigeonholing this band into one specific subset of music just won’t do it as there’s way too much versatility at hand. But some common features throughout is the manner in which the songs alternate between relatively gentle arrangements, mainly with a sparse quality, and harder edged ones with layered instruments and more of a majestic feel to them. Another recurring feature is the use of electronic rhythm details to supplement the drum patterns, to add a stronger contemporary feel to the songs.
The songs themselves are rather far from being one dimensional, as already noted. Opening cut Just Another Day kicks of in a manner not too far removed from the likes of Killing Joke for instance, while title track Eight that follows has more of a dark, sickly feel to it that brings associations to the moods and atmospheres used by Depeche Mode in their darkest moments to mind. This association continues in the just as dark but dramatically different, sparse cut Delirium, where powerful guitar riffs and rich, sickly keyboard textures are replaced by acoustic guitars, solemn electric piano and an undercurrent of dark, eerie synth voice details.
As this album unfolds, associations towards both Gary Numan, Porcupine Tree and even Pink Floyd on one occasion does arise as well, while a common denominator in many of the more careful passages in the songs at times does bring a slight feel of early days Marillion to mind as well. In a minor way indeed, but there’s a slight touch of this going on as well but as undercurrents to material that mainly appears to operate within a new wave and post-punk sphere of reference, and one given a contemporary update through the rhythms department at that. Final song Salvation ends then concludes this album on a rather different note altogether, dark but jubilant in a sort of alternative rock manner.
While I’m not an expert by far on bands exploring music in the context outlined, I did find this album to be a refreshing experience. A few songs didn’t quite manage to capture my attention all that much, but the greater majority comes across as darkly engaging creations, with tendencies towards generally dark atmospheres a key element that intrigued me. I’d recommend those with a just about equal taste for music described as new wave, post-punk and hard rock to give this one a spin, as a crowd with this taste in music to me appears to be something of a key audience.
My rating: 75/100
