Viva Stereo - Patterns of Behaviour Album Review

Viva Stereo
Patterns of Behaviour
Album Review

The second album from Glasgow's incredibly creative Viva Stereo. Buckle up for a bewitching musical journey through every genre you can think of and then some - all with an edgy, introspective feel. The Stone Roses echo through the wickedly addictive Syntax Errors, while the title track comes over all New Order with plenty of dead-pan vocals (full of dry humour) and bleepy electronics. Star Sign Girl has a Primal Scream rock 'n' rollness to the melody line, over the top of a dark autobahn soundscape Kraftwerk would be proud of. Imagine a DJ remix of Arab Strap and you've got the measure of the bleakly defiant You're Not Committed to the Company, but it's not all doom and gloom – far from it – and the hippy happiness of Come See the View will have you reminiscing about Beck's Odelay. It's rare to find such versatility and inventiveness in one album. Even rarer to come across a band brave enough to break out of media-imposed boundaries and take their music wherever it needs to go. Highly, highly recommended.

Sharon Edge