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Album Review

The Victorian English Gentlemens Club
Love On An Oil Rig This Is Fake DIY Records

Article written by Ged M - Oct 13, 2009

Victorian English Gentlemens Club: Love On An Oil Rig

Big changes in the VEGC camp mean that their second album has a stronger, more rhythmic sound. This is definitely a progression from the raw-edged debut: drums are more driving, bass is super-distorted, vocals are complex (Adam sings lead vocals throughout but Louise’s whoops and la-la-las are anything but “backing”) and the art-rock has sharper edges. It's closer to the sound of the early Yeah Yeah Yeahs, although 'Watching the Burglars' could be a mad scientist's mash-up of Kid Creole and Frank Zappa. And the titles are more stream of consciousness than ever: the shuffle punk of 'God Save Us From Being So Damn Primitive' and the stomping 'The Venereal Game’ are rich pickings for the amateur headshrink.

It can sometimes seem too arty, a little over-painted (the manic edge and excessive guitar freakery of 'Periscope Envy' doesn't quite work) but they have a keen ear for a mean melody -just as I was dismissing the structure of 'Dog', they assailed my ears with a brilliant ELO-style refrain, while 'Parrot' smoothes out the angularity of the verses with a sumptuous indiepop chorus. Overall, this is a pretty impressive follow up. Whereas the self-titled first album could have been a brief blaze of excellence, the winning combination of intricate rhythms and supercharged sound on ‘Love On An Oil Rig’ shows that they're forging their own path now and are likely to be following it for some time.

Links:
http://www.thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub.co.uk/
http://www.thisisfakediyrecords.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/thevictorianenglishgentlemensclub