Review Summary: Videohippos release an album of great noise-pop tunes under a rather horrible moniker
The name Videohippos screams “don’t take this seriously!” It is the type of name that would make most cringe. The type of name that seems like it was chosen for pure irony. The type of name that seems like it must be the moniker of a wholly terrible, wholly generic indie-pop act. You know. It’s one of those names.
Just listening to
Unbeast the Leash makes me want to un-think all of those thoughts. There is something about Unbeast the Leash, a sad, morose quality, that nothing outside the actual songs would suggest, not the artwork, not the album name and certainly not the band’s name. Within thirteen relatively short songs (only one track is about three minutes), Videohippos manage to take the upbeat keyboard pop of Mates of State and drown it in all the fuzz, sadness and brilliance of My Bloody Valentine. It’s genre could probably be defined as Noise-Pop, though the songs as equally suited for cartoons and comic-books as they are for gazing at the night sky; noise-pop, for the kid in you. After all, no band operating under the name Videohippos can be entirely serious.
The vocals, sung tender and almost robotic, like on opener
Toothsub or screamed/spoken on
Rider , are not exempt from the fuzz ambush. Listening to the lyrics is an uphill battle; words are unrecognizable among swirling keyboards and choice samples. However, Unbeast the Leash contains brilliant melodies, vocal and keyboard alike.
Downfall may be wordless (it contains a few sparse shouts and hums) but it still sounds incredibly familiar, even after one listen. This happens with much of the album and is probably equally due to the simplicity of the songs.
Arguably as important to Videohippos’ sound as its melodies, are its drum beats. This seems like an odd thing to say, seeing as though in many instances it seems drummer Kevin O’Meare could be replaced by a machine. Despite the fact that O’Meare’s lo-fi pounding is distinctively human he delivers his beats with a robotic precision, making the desire to dance even stronger.
Narwhals features a simple enough beat, but it really drives the song and works extremely well beneath the video game samples and warm, distorted keyboards.
The List , an obvious single, is the same way, the break neck drums complimenting the nearly out of tune vocal melodies and shoegaze haze perfectly. As a whole, Unbeast the Leash falls off a bit towards the middle/end. However, Narwhals, along with last song
Man’s Man , really pick it up, ending Unbeast, a great album, on a good note.
-Dan
