Posted on: October 16, 2008 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Varla magazine is a perfect example of a magazine that I’ve never heard of, and yet it has brought out ten issues before this one hit the newsstands. This is the equivalent to a print version of Suicide Girls, as Varla ties together music with pinups. However, some of the choices for the pinups in this issue are pretty tame, if not plain boring. I understand that a lot of individuals like the silicone-injected, super-surgeried models, but they all tend to morph together. Varla hits its stride when it talks about music, as some of the pieces are solid and alert individuals to bands or events that would not otherwise be known so widely. For this issue of Varla, this includes Wasted UK Punk Festival, Punk Human (who used to have MTV VJ Ian Robinson in their ranks), and Monster Magnet (they are still around? Interesting!). The layout is something that individuals should expect from a music magazine like Metal Edge, Spin, or Kerrang; while there are other bands covered than in the other music magazines, there is little else that would merit individuals to shell out five dollars of their own money. If there were a little less in the way of text-free (photo) pages and a little more text strewn throughout this magazine, chances are much better that individuals would feel that the magazine was worth its list price. As it is right now, there just is not enough material for readers hungry to learn about the latest developments in music, even those individuals that don’t mind posing models every second or third page.

Rating: 3.3/10

[JMcQ]

Varla #11 / $4.95 / :30 / 52M / http://www.varla.com / Reviewed 01 July 2006

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