Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Salvation For The Music World, July 21, 2006
With clever lyrics in the vein of Shirley Manson, belting out from a voice reminiscent of old skool Gwen Stefani, Vincent Black Shadow sets the stage for rejuvenation of femme fatale scene, definitely holding their own. To compare the range of uniqueness encountered on the debut, "Fears In The Water," to anything else, would not give due justice to the sonic innovation that theVBS has brought to table. However, Vincent Black Shadow's sound could inadequately be summed up as a shot of No Doubt, a jigger of JackOfJillness, a splash of Garbage, shaken over some 1940's cabaret, and topped with a healthy amount of good ol' dark dementedness. On a personal note, this is one of the few albums I can listen to from start to end, without the bothersome need to skip from track to track, which to me is the mark of brilliant musical talent.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's pop conscious, well structured, eclectic alterative rock -- in all it's glory..., December 2, 2006
This album is deceptively good. I mean that by the fact that it's easy to forget the significance of everything that's going on during the course of "Fears In The Water" and get lost in the groove and sing-along quality of it all.
The hooky riffs and over-all catchiness do not get lost by the continuous hodgepodge of styles, which range from gothic to cabaret to ska to whatever they feel like at the time. I'm especially partial the eerie keyboard parts sprinkled liberally throughout the mix in almost every song. There are definitely some young skilled song craftsman at work here, who manage to maintain a very fresh perspective. And despite the creativity and original method found commonly on "Fears In The Water" it's extremely safe to say `The Vincent Black Shadow' never loose grip of their pop sensibilities or their ear for what actually sounds good and accessible...
...The obvious drawback from this however is that they have a tendency to stroll dangerously close to being too repetitive for their own good, at least by my tastes. And regardless of it's seemingly repetitiveness, it's never boring. And besides that, really the only thing that's stopping me from giving this album the full 5 stars is the way it doesn`t exactly flow "perfectly" from song to song throughout the entire course of the album.
Apart from the mere musical perspective, there is some serious songwriting and amazing singing going on here. Cassandra Ford has a voice that will get you to shut up and pay attention even if you're not partial to her style. Admittedly it takes myself quite a few listens before I really start to relate and really connect to it's emotional content but `The Vincent Black Shadow' don't make it too difficult with the kind of word play and themes they use to get, and hold, your attention.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another promising Canadian debut , January 17, 2007
Fear's in the Water is a fun alternative act propelled by frontwoman Cassandra Ford's Gwen Stefani-esque vocals and the band's new wave cabaret sound. The first single, Metro, is the band at it's jivin' best, though one would never know it wasn't some lost track from Tragic Kingdom era No Doubt. Bullet on the Tracks sounds like Gwen-meets-The Lovemakers; but in spite of at times obvious sources of inspiration Fear's in the Water still has fun and, as a side note, looks damn good doing it.
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by The Vincent Black Shadow 
