Customer Reviews

Gilded Stars & Zealous Hearts

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can I say? This the last hurrah for one of the best indie pop bands that I know. Sarah's vocals are magnificent and the music makes your body dance to the heartfelt words. Just check out "One Word" and you will quickly realize why Velocity Girl is such a loved indie band. One of my favorites.

It is interesting to listen to Velocity Girl's sound progress over time from a brash garage band to the very polished, "poppy" group you hear on "Gilded". I'm not as big a fan of the poppy sound though. Note that the Velocity Girl music on the Volkswagon ad and "Clueless" soundtrack are both older songs. My CD collection, however, would be incomplete without Velocity Girl's last hurrah.

Those who have been fans of Velocity Girl from the days of their harsher indie band sound tend to be disappointed with this album (their last), but taken on its own merit this is a masterful piece of alterna-pop. Sarah's vocals are lush, yet upbeat and the music is poppy and fun, but with enough substance behind it to save it from the mindless-pop pile. This is the kind of CD that is versatile enough to be a soundtrack for a lazy sunny Sunday or for driving music (especially "Finest Hour"). It's relaxing and happy.

Its boring when some rabid fan says, "This is the best album ever!!!"

That said, this is the best album ever. And then, having brushed too close to perfection, the band broke up. WTF? I heard they weren't getting along but they couldn't have worked it out?

Sarah Shannon's voice is transcendent. Velocity Girl is gone. Meh.

I'm not bitter over Velocity Girl.

What the heck were they thinking? They had just mastered alternative pop music to the point of bringing the world into harmonic convergence...and then they broke up.

Oh, yeah, THAT was a good idea. What if Neil Armstrong had said "Houston, we've come this far, we've decided not to step out onto the moon, and that we'd rather just turn back."

How could they? I went out on a limb for them, baby. I told everybody I knew about this band. I asked everybody if they "had heard the new Velocity Girl." I measured time by the release of their new album.

But noooooo...living forever in the legend of indie pop culture didn't interest the band. No, they'd rather pursue their own selfish interests and solo careers. Well, what about me, man? You're just going to make 3 perfect albums and just give it up? Just like that? You're going to drop 'Gilded Stars and Zealous Hearts' into my lap and say "Well, its been real. Hope you enjoy."

What am I supposed to do now? Listen to (gasp) Green Day???

No. I'm not bitter over Velocity Girl.

"Simpatico" remains their best cd. The songwriting here isn't as good as the last two cd's. The songwriting is also a little off. They just don't sound as tight as they have in the past. Maybe it's one of the reasons behind the breakup. (The breakup was "blamed" on Sarah getting married and moving to Seattle).What carries the cd is Sarah Shannon's vocals. Beautiful as always. Not the best place to start your Velocity Girl collection, but a good place to end.