The Vivians - New Single Release - Just Two Girls/Glasshouses

The Vivians – New Single Release – Just Two Girls/Glasshouses
Too Pure – Monday 17th August 2009

Finally a band that look and act like a band should! The first time encounter I had with The Vivians was backstage at the miniscule Dunstaffnage Festival, near Oban in 2007. Piling out of a beaten-up van wearing black leathers and over-sized shades, and proceeding to kick football about – against fences, catering tents, small children and animals.. etc.

One other occasion saw singer Damon DeVille (surely that can’t be a real surname?!) scrambling up the Belladrum Festival stage scaffolding, and pulling over the pit-barrier (ontop of myself no less) The resulting stage-invasion led the band to apologise with a cheeky grin to the security for the chaos that erupted. It’s as if two fingers had cleverly and clearly been given to the rest of the music wankery that had graced the stage previously, but getting away with it by being polite at the same time.

Their new single arrives with us from the Too Pure label (part of the Beggars Group) – those who have brought us releases from the likes of McLusky and Stereolab – on limited edition transparent 7” and digital download – following the recent move towards abandoning CDs altogether.. If ever there was a time to get a hold of a vinyl player, it’s now.

The band are ‘punk’ without having to try, but the music has dragged the more tuneful side of that particular genre into the modern world, which results in some very listenable fare – Damien’s voice cutting through the chugging guitars in such a way that you feel like you want to jump up, grab the mic and start singing along with him; shared spittle and all. Apparently Steve Lamacq says that they ‘sound like a rocky Killers thrashing around in an acid bath’, but frankly any comparison to that American lot is an injustice. The Vivians are far better, and have way more charisma.

Whet your appetite with tracks ‘Just Two Girls’ and ‘Glasshouses’ when the single lands on Monday 17th August (or pre-release it at Rough Trade just now), and go see them on one of the following tour dates. I’ll be down the front for Glasgow, although I must confess to never having heard of the ‘Black Sparrow’, and given the Vivians reputation, I’m a bit concerned where we’ll end up.

The Vivians Myspace

FRI 14th AUG - THE CAMDEN EYE - LONDON (single launch night)

SAT 15th AUG - THE FLAPPER - BIRMINGHAM

SUN 16th AUG - THE END - NEWCASTLE

TUE 18th AUG - ELECTRIC CIRCUS - EDINBURGH (single launch night)

WED 19th AUG - BLACK SPARROW - GLASGOW

THU 20th AUG - THE TUNNELS - ABERDEEN

FRI 21st AUG - THE GREENSIDE - LESLIE

SAT 22nd AUG - SUMO - LEICESTER

SUN 23rd AUG - TBC

MON 24th AUG - TBC

TUE 25th AUG - TBC