Vermont - Calling Albany
(Kindercore)
Some people call the Promise Ring emo, some people call them pop, either way, I don't care. All I know is that I like a lot of their songs. I guess you could consider them one of my guilty pleasures. The band Vermont, which includes Davey Von Bohlen from the Promise Ring and Chris Rosenau from Pele, is a band which seems to have been created to give Von Bohlen and Rosenau an outlet for more "acoustic" type songwriting. That isn't to say that the songs aren't sometimes poppy, but overall, the songs are more downbeat and acoustic-based.
Calling Albany, the new 12 song album by Vermont, definitely shows them becoming more of their own band, showing more variation in their sound from the previous recordings and removing themselves further from the shadows of Pele and the Promise Ring. But, for anyone who has heard Von Bohlen's voice, they know that no matter what he does, he sounds like he sounds; lispy, reaching, and straining his nasally and ruff voice to hit all the notes. And while it's true that his voice is far from "good," it is in those imperfections that so many of his fans have found that certain something that makes his voice so memorable and likeable.
"Bells of Saint Alcohol," the most low-key and melancholy song on the album, sets the mood for the record with strummed and picked acoustic guitars and Von Bohlen's singing. After the chorus, accordions (I am assuming) come in playing a simple, nice melody over the acoustic guitars. "Chlorine Chlorine" and "Ballad of Larry Bird" shows the band in full form; drums, guitar, bass, vocals. While still mostly downbeat, these songs, unlike "Bells of Saint Alcohol," are more lumbering and thick and contain more lyrical hooks and catchy songwriting. On "Ballad of Larry Bird," when Von Bohlen sings "I will be there, say the word, I'm a straight shooter like Larry Bird" you almost laugh out loud. Only a Promise Ring fan that is used to Von Bohlen's song writing could like a line like that. But, after a few listens, you will like it. And if you don't like it, than you are in even more trouble because it will get stuck in your head for quite a while.
Overall, Calling Albany is a really mellow and charming album. It stands apart from the Promise Ring and Pele well. It feels more intimate than both of the aforementioned bands and is more experimental and diverse, but because of Von Bohlen singing style, it will most likely only be enjoyed by fans of the Promise Ring, secret or otherwise.
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