I think those of us who grew up in the 80s and 90s will always have a small part of their heart that secretly yearns for that impossible, immaculate world that reached out from the TV screen and transported us to the Hollywood hills, the beaches of Malibu and the clubs along Sunset.
All the Damn Vampires not only take their name from one the era’s best films, but they also seem to have made it their mission to recreate a world that Tony Scott would be proud of.
In all honesty, I hadn’t heard of the band before I stumbled on this album. I fully expected a good dose of moody, goth synthwave. What I’ve ended up with is something more akin to the soundtrack to a montage of the most iconic moments from every 80’s movie you’ve ever seen.
Founding multi-instrumentalist Davey Oberlin, a regular touring member of Korn takes on most of the instrumentation on this album, offering a super-polished production, complete with all the swooshing synths, electronic percussion, and reverb you could wish for. Debutee vocalist Ryan Rose is a revelation here. The vocals command when needed, back off into a whisper in places and simply soar in others. It is an extraordinarily accomplished performance.
After the appropriately titled opener/intro ‘Welcome to Los Angeles’, first track proper; ‘Vicecore’ sums this record up in one great swathe of multi-layered vocals, pulsating synths and reverb drenched guitars. If John Hughes and Hans Zimmer got their hands on a 7 string, this probably wouldn’t be far off!
Track 3 introduced an element of uncertainty for me; a pretty straight cover. When I paid a little more attention to the track listing I realised there are a total of 3 covers on this album. All 3 are well performed but I would have preferred to see more originals in their place.
Whilst I’m in ‘grumpy old man mood’ I note that the video for ‘Last Man Standing’ along with what appears to be a good amount of the artwork is AI generated. Whilst I’m fervently opposed to the use of generative AI in creative fields, maybe here it serves as a metaphor for that unattainable, polished perfection and the uncanny valley distorted smiles that enthralled us all on a Saturday afternoon.
Best paired with: ‘Do you like worms Michael?’
Reviewed by Jake (Our Wine Expert)
All The damn vampires – vicecore is out now as an independent release.
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