One of the greatest thing about the Boston Music Scene is the diversity of acts that represent it and just all kinds of genres in general so it should come as no surprise when one emerges and carries the torch, in our opinion, of that magical mid-’00’s era when bands like Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, and Razorlight were carving out a niche sound that you didn’t even know you needed at the time. Here on the East Coast, Viruette is the band that’s taken that sound, merged it with some more Alternative leanings, topped it off with some classic Rawk a la The Kinks, and forged something new.
When last we checked in on the Boston trio of Harry Bee, George Heffernan, and Andrew Ring they were just about to unleash Waylaid In Aspic which barely scratches the surface of what they’ve been up to since with their debut full-length called Your Lacuna about to drop on the masses. “Bloodied My Fingers” is a fantastic foundation to begin with and reminds us of intros/outros similar to We Are Scientists or Stone Temple Pilots to an extent (“Ghouls” and “My Second Album” respectively) with “You Are The Belletrist” answering next with a Razorlight meets The Libertines flair complete with biting strums, sharp vocal tones that are dense yet delicate, and a crushing chorus from vocalist/guitarist Bee.
“Big Fat Nothing” is estranged but not strange, dissonant but delightful with Ring and Heffernan’s respective bass and drum vibrancy amplifying Bee’s guitar work while “Detach” is another grouping of disparate sounds slamming together to sound unequivocally perfect together. Oh, and there’s trumpet in there when it shifts into Samba/Bossa Nova mode. “Something For The Dread II” is epic early in (We’re at Track 5 of 13 if you’re keeping count) with “Faceblind” on the other end of the spectrum steadily stomping in to follow that as Ring’s bass drives the track amidst some some sonic storm conjuring from Bee’s axe.
“Eyesore Symphonette” is about the time where you’ll be staring at your listening device just pondering “Where has this band been all my life???” and “Capture” is an aural palette cleanse especially as Viruette takes on Shoegaze to give a whole new complexion to the album. “Lamentor” is built on Bee’s fantastic falsetto vocals before the prequel to an earlier ditty, “Something For The Dread I”, follows the aforementioned sequel a little later in and is a heavy jangly jazzy go for the jugular kind of trip.
“Maimed” is kind of like Arctic Monkeys’ “No. 1 Party Anthem” in that the sounds emanating from your listening devices do not at all reflect the name at all but in this case, however, that’s a good thing with the smooth verses and relaxed feels being dished out. Speaking of smooth, “Anhedonia” is the epitome of that descriptor as this penultimate plucky piece starts out precisely that way but ebbs and flows between loud and soft becoming quite the crunchy crusher at times. Viruette’s debut full-length comes to an end with “Wrecked Car” which has a nice build to it with these glistening crescendos that keep climbing towards a triumphant tower of glorious Rawk before the curtain closes on this particular act.
Your Lacuna drops on June 14th and you can pre-order yours now by heading here. Viruette will be celebrating Your Lacuna‘s arrival with a record release show featuring Today Junior, Good News, and special guests over at Deep Cuts on June 22nd and you can get tix for that here. For more from Viruette, including all the deets on the upcoming illustrated lyric booklet from noted Boston artist Adam Kane, follow the socials across the interwebs when you click here or here.