New review of NO VERTIGO

Cavedoll "No Vertigo"

Record Label: Kitefishing Records
Genre: Indie
Band Link: http://www.cavedoll.com
Buy on Amazon.com

Cavedoll are an amazing story. They're this band I haven't heard until now, and not only have they blown me away by this album, but check this out: They release music NONSTOP. They've so far released 10 albums in 2008, and a search on Amazon brings up over a dozen different releases, the oldest from 2007. Even Frank Zappa wasn't this prolific, and half his output was random studio noodling.

I've only heard this album so far, but it's a gem. Some of the album is a poppy blend of Casio-fueled dance-punk and fuzzy psych-rock; some more is shoegazer indie, but upbeat. Think Blur meets Bloc Party. But there is a current of off-kilter garagy quirkiness throughout their music, reminding me a little of Starlight Mints. On top of all that, the singer has a New Romantic voice and there are occasionally ethereal female vox, adding some ribbons of velevety 80s soft-goth.

With a band this prolific, I expect their albums might veer in different directions, and I've heard they've put out some purely electronica CDs, some acoustic folk stuff, etc. But on the strength of "No Vertigo", I am completely intrigued and going to seek out more. This is a solid, interesting, textual indie-pop album that has impressed me the way Blur, Dandy Warhols, and Brian Jamestown Massacre have impressed others.

RATING & SUMMARY:

Notable Tracks: Decoder, The Shadow, Leaking Out The Nose, Full Of Awe, Even When I Hate You
Overall Rating: 4.5 stars
Reviewer: Adam Coozer