Customer Reviews

Message To Garcia

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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Visqueen is a wildly fun rock 'n' roll band that simultaneously shakes your hips and tugs at your heart. To my ears, a potent mix of The Replacements and Buzzcocks. But fronted by the disarmingly cool Rachel Flotard, who is inimitable. No other band is THIS ridiculously infectious; these songs just burrow into bones and animate the body. If you love, love, love great rock music, this band is for you. Intelligent, unpretentious, and fun as eff you see kay.

Oh, and this is their richest album to date! Rocket blast tunes dressed up with new textures, wrinkles, etc.

See that big cat on the cover? That's the sleek, sexy predator of rock coming out of the jungle to chew you right out of your cummerbund. This new Visqueen record has all the catchy hooks and melodies that you would expect from a Visqueen joint, but with even more claws. And pounce.

I had never heard Visqueen before, and I was so smitten by the music that I played the CD over and over. Now I have several of the tunes running through my head at all times. I only wish that the lyrics were included, because this isn't "standard issue" stuff - some of it is very deep! A must-have CD for any fan of rock and roll. Rachel Flotard is very talented and has a great voice. Neko Case is on back-up vocals.

I bought this album after hearing Visqueen's front-woman Rachel Flotard on NPR this morning. She was talking about her experience providing hospice care to her ailing father and without even hearing a song my curiousity was piqued. I wondered, how would an experience like that effect a musician? The answer is that she created an absolutely amazing rock album! From the lyrics and instrument selection to the rolling harmonies and arrangements, every song speaks to me with meaning and sonic depth. Two thumbs, eight fingers and ten enthusiastic toes up!

Having lived in Seattle for years I've seen Visqueen a few times and they never really struck me as being that interesting. Usually it was at a show opening for another band. Once I saw Rachael come out and sing Glad Girls with the grandfather of indie rock himeself - Mr. Bob Pollard. Fast forward a few years and it took an article in the local weekly Seattle goto paper, The Stranger, for me to re think about this band I never think about. In this stupid age of folky wannabee backporch campfire hipsters that inhabit the wasteland of Pitchforked foolishness it was great to read an article about such a genuine person. Seattle can be a strange town musically but also diverse. The Fleet Foxes make Harry Potter music for children, Visqueen makes real music for anyone.

With such an incredible voice, it's not surprising that Racheal sings back up on the last Nico Case album and Nico returned the favor here. There are a lot of similarities in both voices as well but the music of Visqueen is on the other end of the spectrum musically. Visqueen is pretty much a power pop band fronted by a great singer. The band is good no doubt but some of the songs start to blend together which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lot's of baere chords here. It's upbeat for the most part. The striking song on the album is So Long. Sad slide guitars and pretty instrumentation mixed with Racheal Flotards beautiful voice are hopefully a harbinger of musical output in her future. It's a good album and although not the type of music I generally listen to, I dig this record. It's easy to listen to over and over again. It was obvious at the show the band has fun and that comes through the sound as well. The music resonates with honesty also. There is nothing kitsch or ironic about this music like so much crap out there. Nice to have something like this come out at the begninning of a long dark Seattle Winter.

Their first album was good, second was better, this third album is Great! Clearly they are growing in their song writing. I wish them plenty of success.

Ok - this is the good stuff - this band could define great rock music.

Rachel Flotard's lyrics are always full of interesting phrases and the bigger band really fills out the sound, anchored by Ben Hooker's drums :). (having seen them live several times, Ben is my choice for filling the drum stool in Led Zepplin - but you need to see him to really appreciate that ;) ).

I've just started listening to this but even now after the 3rd or 4th listen I can tell - this CD rocks.

If you like most any sort of rock'n'roll music with infectous up-tempo lyrics and great rock guitar and drums - this is the CD for you!

Here's what you need to know: Visqueen a very good band. They're not just indie good, or obscure good, or Seattle good. They are universally good. So quit stumbling about like a toddler and buy this album. You will be glad you did.

Another thing you should know: Visqueen kicks [...]. They kick [...] like a guy who gets a razor pulled on him and blocks the slash with his forearm so he can deliver the knock-out blow because he knows that the cut will be clean and will heal up without a much of a scar.

Visqueen's leading lady Rachel Flotard writes and sings straight from the heart. And on top of that, she rocks. Her talents are endless - not only on this great album and the ones that came before it, but also on stage. If you haven't seen Visqueen live, make sure you do this year. You will laugh, you will cry - it's better than Chorus Line, better than CATS!

If Neko Case hadn't done backing vocals on this CD, I never would have checked out Visqueen - a band that, it turns out, is excellent in its own right. There isn't a single song on this album that is inaccessible or doesn't deliver - and that's rare for me to say. So check out Message to Garcia ... you won't be disappointed.