Band of the Week: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band

[September 15 - 21]

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Sounds Like: Indie-pop
Drinking Buddies: Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, Throw Me The Statue, Oh No! Oh My!

Synopsis: Reminiscent novelty.
Makes You Want To...: Clap your hands; Dance; Sing.
[Myspace]

One week, one band. You know the drill.
This week, the featured artist is Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band.

Though you may not be at all interested in my personal predicament, I have been looking around at a possible university to transfer to. There are oodles of Texan universities that are very renowned and whatnot, but I’ve also been considering a change of scenery; maybe going somewhere out of state would be good for me.

One section of the country I have always found immensely interesting is the northwest, particularly the Seattle region of Washington. I promise that all this music from the same city is just a complete coincidence, but it reinforces the fact I want to make about the place: Seattle and the surrounding area is one of the most influential cities in modern American music. This city has brought us the next big thing more than once. Nirvana, Death Cab for Cutie, Throw Me The Statue, Some By Sea; so many bands have had the spotlight shown on them, and they’ve represented their side of these United States through their unique styles of music.

We have yet another band hailing from this rainy city known for new, inventive styles of music. They call themselves the Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band. Though they only add to the collection of bands with particularly unusual names (it's simply a coincidence I compare them to Someone Still Love You..., I promise), this charismatic quintet has another nifty, noteworthy notch on their belt: they were being hyped up by blogs all across the internet before anyone even heard their music.

homeostasis



This is Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band's public service announcement video about homeostasis and their band. They released it back in March, along with a couple more, when they had no actual musical material for anyone's eager ears. To add to the mystery, sources said that these folks were recording with Scott Colburn, responsible for such average additions to the music world, including Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, or Animal Collective's Strawberry Jam.

Since their video oddities, they played their very first live show in July, as well as released their very first album, Weepy EP. And thus, the critical acclaim pours in. Everywhere from Stereogum to Pitchfork began raving about Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band; even Dallas Does Indie featured them on episode 112! Another quick witted band who has garnered success on the blogosphere, but you may be wondering, are they up to snuff musically?

The answer is a fabulous yes. These folks deliver with an eclectic, eccentric, somewhat angular indie-pop that makes you tap your feet and simultaneously tilt your head to the side in intrigued indulgence. This may just be me, but I hear some Sunny Day Real Estate in the vocals (yet again, more with the Seattle bands. I'll stop eventually). Beyond comparisons, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band stands as one of the most interesting new bands to crop up. With a unique, vibrant musical stylings, along with their obvious sense of humour, I'm sure only great things could be expected.

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band remains unsigned! Now that's some true indie indulgence. They also have quite a few videos of that first show I mentioned, circulating all about the interblag. Furthermore, there are all of those PSA videos thrown about YouTube. But you can find everything you need, including a place to order the Weepy EP, all on Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band's Myspace.

Remember, we're all suffering from GDOT (that's Gradual Death Over Time, for those who haven't seen one of the videos yet). So live life to the fullest now! I hope you have a wonderful week, reader.