Band: VIAL
Album: Loudmouth
VÖ: 30.07.2021
Label/Vertrieb: Hassel Records/ Get Better Records
VIAL are the people you don’t want to piss off, sick to their stomachs of churned-out, run-of-the-mill, ‘bratty, bitchy, money hungry’ punk bands, and are putting down what others’ won’t pick up. Their early single ‘Violet’ glistens with indie curiosity, its love-story narrative turning into the hard-hitting reality of queer relationships and ‘disappointing my mumma for you.’ Contrasted with the kick-in-the-balls of ‘Mr Fuck You’ and ‘Planet Drool,’ VIAL pack more than a few punches into their 12-track album, writing the music and penning the social-commentary they wanted to hear
Inspired by the lack of musical substance from a night out in Minneapolis in 2019, vocalist and keytarist Taylor Kraemer (she/they) recruited fellow after-school-musicians KT Branscom (they/them) and Kate Kanfield (they/them) to the fold, before finding Katie Fischer (she/them) via a band Tinder account and adding them to complete the cause.
LOUDMOUTH features a reworked version of the band’s origin story in the form of ‘Vodka Lemonade,’ relaying the anxieties and awkwardness of starting out as a new band on the scene. ‘Mr Fuck You’ takes relatability one step further and explores the hair-pulling, eye-rolling, hatred-inducing encounters with unwanted flirtatious attention and forced connections, all sang through gritted teeth and a fake smile before the inevitable outburst. Listen out too for the raucous carnival rock opener of ‘Ego Death’, or the soft and transcendent cloud ride of ‘Thumb’ for the scope of vibes on offer from this highly exciting new band.
The band’s tenacity and expert sarcasm is nurtured by producer Henry Stoehr (Slow Pulp), who not only severs the chains but throws them into the furnace to be melted altogether - unleashing energy informed by guts, not necessarily genre.
After having previously released their debut record Grow Up the same year they formed, VIAL were awarded the title of Best New Band in their hometown’s City Pages, recently praised by Alternative Press as a key band coming through in the scene, and followed by a growing audience on Tik Tok hungry to hear more music from VIAL’s punkrocker attitudes.
An album that takes the world-wide experienced anger, melancholy, and bite, LOUDMOUTH utilises its punk presence and retrospective relatability for an audience ready to jump on board.
