I hate to state the obvious, but the fellas in Virginia Coalition are, in fact, from Virginia (jealous, Of Montreal?). The trio met in high school music class more than a decade ago, forming Virginia Coalition (or VACO, as coined by fans) in the late 90s. Since then, Andrew, Paul and Jarrett have steadily produced solid alt-rock, earning positive reviews from the likes of Paste Magazine and praise for their lively live shows. However, despite gathering a loyal fan base, VACO remains ever-so-under the radar of mainstream notoriety, a “who’s that?” band, even after all these years (although, considering the tepid quality of current “alt-rock,” this may not be a bad thing). Home This Year, the band’s eighth (!) album, released earlier this year, is the product of a little musical “soul searching.” As vocalist Andrew Poliakoff put it:
“There’s a value to the time you put into a project. We didn’t allow ourselves to be satisfied with the first, or even third version of a song. We’re getting older, and we wanted more than bombast. We wanted to look outside ourselves and find something more reflective, more truthful, more universal, to open a new chapter in the band’s songwriting history.” (From Virginia Coalition’s official website)
This was in reference to the band’s previous work, and their prior interest in producing an eclectic mix of sounds and styles (often jumping from funk to soul and back to rock again). Home is certainly a cohesive album, in the sense that all of its pieces fit together properly, without strays or head-scratchers. From the first track to the last, Home documents the emotional and physical journeys (the band traveled cross country to
California before starting work on the album) that VACO endeavored in the name of art, and, well, life. “Home This Year” laments the absence of intimacy while touring, and, as the title suggests, missing home (“it’s too far to get home, a crash would raise the rates right through the rooftop; sunrise, man, I wish that you could see this”). “Not Scared” was co-written by fellow sensitive rocker Ari Hest, and is described as “political,” which is sort of true, except not in the sense that most people think of when they hear a musician utter that awful ‘p’-word. Basically, it’s a love song that defies discrimination.
Home This Year is probably most suited for fans of Ben Harper’s and Jack Johnson’s mellow approach to “jammin’,” or even the Americana, road trip aesthetic of the Counting Crows, This Desert Life edition (don’t scoff, I know you owned that album). It’s not groundbreaking music, but you know what? Sometimes good old heartfelt musings trump showy innovation.
Virginia Coalition is currently on tour in support of The Beautiful Girls. They will be in Minneapolis at the 400 Bar on Wednesday, April 9th. The band will also be performing live on Fearless Radio-Chicago (www.fearlessradio.com) at 5pm CST, Monday April 7th. More information about shows can be found on their website at www.virginiacoalition.com.
-Lara
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