It becomes hard to establish a coherent and cogent sound with an EP. While many acts like coming out with these shorter recordings, I feel that LPs are typically the way to go. VTG looks to change my opinion on the matter with their “Love Is Letting Go”. The disc’s first track, “I Lie Pretty”, defies convention. This is due to the fact that there is a little bit of everything present in the band’s sound during this song, whether it be rock, punk, electronic, or even new wave.
For every Stabbing Westward or Nirvana that can be heard, scores of other influences, sounds, and musical genres can be picked out. “You” is a track that seems destined for rock radio, as there is a confident guitar line that pounds through the track. While there is a bit of electronic fuzz and funk modifying this riff, VTG’s vocals move into a Trent Reznor type of space. Where Mr. Reznor has gradually lost much of his allure over the course of the last ten or so years, VTG’s “You” captures all of the intensity, fury, and anger that was present in a “Pretty Hate Machine” and updates it for 2010. “She Kills Me” is a song that keeps the innovative streak of VTG alive, as the snap-track is something that is truly out of left field.
The fact that it works during “She Kills Me” should not be surprising, as VTG use this experimental streak to tremendous success with each of the cuts on this EP. “Clean Me Out” is the EP’s final track, and it acts as a perfect gateway, linking together the music that listeners had just heard with the realm of possible paths that the act can take on their subsequent releases. The only thing that I know about these future recordings is that I have absolutely no clue where they will go, but that they will be solid.
Top Tracks: She Kills Me, Clean Me Out
Rating: 8.5/10
VTG – Love Is Letting Go / 2010 Self / 6 Tracks / http://www.vtgmusic.com