NEWS
NEWS
December 12, 2009
Super excellent news, my friends! Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies' EP II was reviewed in the newest issue, 65, of Jack Rabid's excellent rock n roll magazine The Big Takeover. You guys all know how super great TBT is so you can imagine how pumped up we were to get to bend Mr. Rabid's ear about VVLL's EP, AND to get our first big print review of the EP in such a great mag (not to mention the fact that rock gods Sonic Youth are on the cover). I could continue gushing but I won't. Below is the review in full.
Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies - EP II review in The Big Takeover #65
by Mark Suppanz
Formed in 2006, this Chapel Hill, NC four-girl, two-guy collective (which contains nobody named Violet Vector!) picks up right where they left off on 2008's first untitled EP. Their 60's-inspired psychedelic pop, garage, and girl-group sounds bring to mind a combination of The Darling Buds, ? and the Mysterians, Pipettes, Chocolate Watch Band, and Metric. Each of these five ridiculously catchy tunes are characterized by lead Lovely Amanda Brooks' gritty guitar, a potent rhythm section, and Karen Blanco's swirling organ - the loopy, kaleidoscopic B-52's-like closer "Technicolor Electric" even features Melloman and Theremin. And like Metric's Emily Haines, Brooks' delectable vocals shift effortlessly between sweet and self-assured to slightly crazed, as evidenced on hummable ditties such as "What's Going on in Your World?" and "Sunshine in Space."
Thank you much to Mr. Suppanz for being so eloquent and awesome! Be sure to pick up a copy of the rock n roll bible when it hits the shelf; the Sonic Youth article alone is pure gold.
September 10, 2009
Life has gotten busy here at Camp Color Wheel! Getting married and buying a house + moving all in the next two months does not equal efficient compilation timing! We've got all of our songs for Color Wheel Vol. 1, 19 in all, and there are some real gems here I promise you. We've got new songs by Matt Duncan, High Water Marks, Ideal Free Distribution, Marbles, Noisycrane, Clifton Keller and tons more. I've been swollen with glee ever since the first comp song rolled in so many months ago, as they've all been so much more than I ever could have hoped! Most of the bands featured on the compilation are Lexington folks with the inclusion of a few other regional bands and a couple even further away than that! The songs have all been mastered and we will get to work on getting this lovely little disc out as soon as we return from our honeymooning at the end of October. The world needs pop music in the wintertime too!
In the musical meantime, I have a recommendation for you! Sometime last month a band called The Love Language opened up for Cursive at The Dame, the last show I saw there before it closed for the final time. The Love Language are good pals of Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies and luckily VVLL let us know ahead of time that we just had to see them. Long story short, pretty girls, mindblowing percussion, circus tall guitarist, Stuart McLamb belting it out, they were magnificent. We ordered their debut album from Bladen County Records the day after and it hasn't left the car rotation since. It's beautiful, mournful, and sincere, some of the most well-crafted lo-fi pop songs I've ever heard. If you're a fan of that kind of thing, which hopefully you are, go check out their myspace page and listen and buy their cd, and go to their shows, and tell them how awesome they are! (In whichever order you prefer.) Below is the music video for "Sparxxx," which totally reminds me of some of the more awesome and cheesy blur videos of the mid-90's. Fun!
August 19, 2009
We now joyfully present to you, the music video for Ideal Free Distribution's "William Buss!" (From the second album Then We Were Older.) We reeeeeally hope you like it!
A million thanks to Pierre Chandeze for his editing genius!
July 21, 2009
It's here; it's finally here! Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies' EP II is finally, officially released today! It's only our second release on Color Wheel and we're just as ecstatic as we were with the first. Nevermind the fact that the songs on EP II are shockingly great, but most of all, so are the VVLLs themselves. We are very lucky people to be able to work with them and to help get these magical songs out to you and everyone else in the world. Please visit the VVLL myspace page and tell them what you think about the new disc and also our Color Wheel VVLL page to learn a little more about the band as well as download the first track from the new EP, the mind-blowing "Grass is glowing."
EP II will be available indefinitely through Color Wheel's online shop and directly through the band. Definitely try to catch them live if at all possible (use your biggest butterfly net!) and pick up one of the EPs for whichever price you see fit. Yep, you name the price and they'll take it; they're that cool. Lastly, EP II is not yet available on iTunes but will be very soon. In the meantime, you can check out EP I on iTunes and reminisce about the band's raw, garage rock beginnings!
July 17, 2009
Dear friends, the wonderful and magnificent EP II from our dearest psych-pop superstars Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies finally has a release date!
The EP will officially be released next Tuesday, July 21st for your summertime listening pleasure. Commence excitement!
Seriously, how can you resist these dolls??
July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day to all of our fellow countryfolks; we hope you've been enjoying all of the multi-colored explosions in the sky as much as we have!
July 3, 2009
News! The new EP, appropriately titled EP II, by our psychedelic darlings Violet Vector and the Lovely Lovelies, has finally arrived! I hope you're wearing your sock garters; if not, those things are going to be blown right off when you tune into these 5 psych-pop masterpieces!
As of tomorrow, EP II will be up for preorder through our online shop. The release date is still pending and we will put the EP up for sale indefinitely when that mystery date arrives. We'll be making announcements soon, don't you fret. Ultimately the EP will be available here in our online shop, on myspace, through various digital media outlets (iTunes, amazon, eMusic, etc.), as well as from the band itself. Support amazing music and preorder today!
In further Violet Vector news, they will be one of seven bands opening up for rock icon Joan Jett at Downtown Live in Raleigh, North Carolina on Saturday, July 11th. (For more info visit the Downtown Live website.) So, if you happen to be in Raleigh head on down for some face-melting fun in the sun with JJ and VVLL!
July 1, 2009
We're currently hard at work on two EPs, a rip-roarin' compilation, and recording local brass & jazz man, Warren Byrom.
Meanwhile, our dear friend and fellow musician Pierre Chandeze is working his frenchy fingers to the bone on a music video for the Ideal Free Distribution song "William Buss!" We really can't wait to see it!
Check out Pierre's band Top Montagne on Myspace to hear/see some of his handiwork; he also created the IFD video for their song "New Madrid, 1811" which you can see below.
Lots more to come!
XOXO