4.5 stars.... Vandaveer's sophomore album shines
Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 11/26/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Vandaveer is the brainchild of Mark Heidinger (who is also active in the Apparitions and even as an occasional bass player in These United States), bringing acoustic-based pensive music, augmented with various assorted musicians. The band's 2007 debut album "Grace & Speed" was quite promising, and now comes the second album.
"Divide and Conquer" (10 tracks; 42 min.) expands on the first album, and then some. The band sounds fuller, and more confident. In particular the addition of co-vocalist Rose Guerin (who did not appear on the first album) is quite an improvement, and the interplay between the two reminds me of Damien Rice and Lisa Hennigan back in the day. The album kicks off with a dreamy title track, and it sets the tone for the album. "Fistfull of Swoon" is pretty much as the title implies, a lovely, slow-developing ballad. "A Mighty Leviathan of Old" is another stirring acoustic tune. The second half of the album kicks off with "Turpentine", my favorite track on here, with great hooks and outstanding instrumental interplay by the whole band and Mark and Rose sharing vocals, just wow. Another highlight on the album is "Before the Great War", which sounds as mainstream as anything on here and could/should find mainstream radio-play but for that mainstream radio sucks these days.
In all, this is quite the album. Love it. I saw Vandaveer in concert a few months ago in Washington DC (where the band now is based), it was just Mark and Rose bringing many of these songs in an acoustic-only setting, and what a performance it was, just spell-bounding. Finally, if you wonder where you can hear Vandaveer, check out WOXY (BAM! The Future of Rock and Roll), the internet-only station that brings the best indie-music in the country, bar none. Meanwhile, "Divide and Conquer" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1