VALINA / SICBAY
The euro
tour split 7” 2004
7”, Tempete Dans Ton Bourg / SuperFi
You don’t need any more basic information on one of my favourite bands,
or do you? Well, if so check some of the reviews of their latest releases,
e.g. for their last album “vagabond” or their first album “into arsenal of codes”
or their seven inch on
substance. In the last years Valina have become better and
better, tighter and one of the best bands to come from Austria. They seem to
constantly build on their songs and musical visions, without compromise but
also without any urgency, both in a live setting as in their recordings.
There is no sense of a career, so to say, but all about an evolution of
musical (and also political) ideas, of course, still hidden in very complex
and intuitive symbolism rather than straight forward and outspoken. A hidden
revolution to dance to.
Their new song on this seven inch, “escort of soda”, is to me a kind
of highlight in their recordings. It combines all their good sides –
complex grooves coming from noise guitars and driving bass/drum-lines,
melodies to hum along to and still retaining lots of space for experiments
– into one little song. Well, it actually ain’t that little, since it
comes with an acapella intro, the help of a saxophone and a trumpet and
boasts various parts, which makes it a small epic in a way. But it is just
one song on a “seven inch”. Is it preposterous to ask today, what will
happen on their next full album? Maybe so, there is still a tour through
Europe ahead of them, to which occasion this little gem was produced, and
after that another trip to the USA to play more concerts there. The future
is always just one step ahead.
The tour will be played together with their friends from Minneapolis:
Sicbay. I admit that I never heard of them before Valina told me about them,
though some members have played in bands that I know and liked, such as The
Dazzling Killmen and Colossamite, I am looking forward to see them play
live. Again, as I remember seeing Colossamite before. Remember, Minneapolis
was also the home of Amphetamine Reptile Records and therefore one of the
main hot spots for Noise Rock, the way I remember it. They have kept that
tradition a little, especially in the second song on their part of this
split-seven inch: “Spazz”, which is, unfortunately, a cover-version.
They have released at least two full albums that I know of, “the
firelight s’coughs” (on Obtuse Mule) and “overreaction time” (on 54°40’
or fight!) and a few EPs, which are really good as well, though more
melodic, more dynamic, less chaotic, less noisy as their predecessors. To
call the kid by its name, Sicbay could easily be regarded as an emo-core
band in the vein of Hot
Water Music or Cable Car Theory. Essentially a good pairing with
Valina, of course, though it seems to me, with less edges and spikey corners
(but that might give them more appeal with the kids anyway).
So, I expect a great night out when they’ll be playing in Vienna in a
few days. It’ll also be interesting to see, how people react to these
bands, because usually, if a band from the USA plays in Austria, they are
the headliner and the Austrian band does the support slot, which usually
makes the Austrian band worse. There are some obvious reasons for that, e.g.
if a band makes it to Europe from the USA they have some experience and some
records out while the Austrian band doing support has only played a few
concerts and is being checked out by the promoters as to their potential.
Moreover, more people come to see the US-band, which they already know
thanks to mailorders, newsletters and the internet, and of the local band
only some friends show up and get drunk on their behalf. Finally, there is a
certain prejudice or pre-conception that bands from the USA have the ability
to “rock”, that they are better than local bands. This time, that will
be different, because Valina are a great band with a rather large following
in Vienna, even on a Monday night.
