Customer Reviews

We Have Sound

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I became exposed to Tom Vek at a concert where I had no expectations. I was blown away by their sound, a mix of punk and funk. It is a simple album that is great to listen to. The first track, CC '(You set the fire in me)' is sure to pull you in with its pleasing beat which I could not get out of my head long after I saw them perform. Their sound has been done before but they manage to sound new. You'll enjoy it!

I can remeber the first time i heard tom vek was at a friend's party a few months ago...i was just amazed. Someone had put it on the turn table and woah...it really blew me away.

I guess tom sounds like something distinctly retro, i duno, eighties meets sixties in a roundabout sort of way, but there's also a modern feel to his stuff...i really caa't explain it. But if you're into LCD Soundsystem, Daft Punk, The Kills, Ladytron and/or the Strokes i think you'll get what i mean.

The stand out track on this album? Well, for me it's gotta be Nothing But Green Lights. That song just hits me everytime i hear it. The into's amazing...tom seems to make these sounds and then add a beat and synths and POW! You're left feeling the immediate need to dance in a odd indie-i-can't-really-dance-but-i'm-gona-try-way. And hey, that's always fun.

Yeah, i think that's the big thing with tom vek...its indie you can dance to but not in the lame, 'anthem in the indie disco' sense. Tom Vek's just got a way with beats that may not be all that original, but somehow he seems to just take over and make sense.

I also really like Tom Vek's vocal style. He doesn't seem to really try to sing or convince you of his vocal talents. Plus you can tells he's Londoner which i like. (For modern frontmen with interesting vocal talents see a band called Art Brut.(artbrut.org.uk) They're also one of my fav acts 2005. Check out their songs Modern Art and We Formed A Band. Oh and you may have heard about this band via certain rivalries/fights with Kele form Bloc Party-ignore that though, they worth a listen dispite the hype)

The actual songs then:
C-C (You Set the Fire in Me) is an incredible opening track. Dead simple but effective. I Ain't Saying My Goodbyes is also a real stand out track - quite up-tempo and upbeat.That Can be Arranged & The Lower the Sun are good mellow tracks also, in keeping with the overall style of the album but they're kinda simplier in a real laidback kinda way.

I think one of the remarkable things about this album is how I personally don't dislike any of the tracks. That's quite a tricky thing to acutally find in an album, cos even with my all-time fav albums I tend to find a coupla tracks just don't do it for me & the 'skip' button becomes most useful. Yet with We Have Sound I haven't felt that at all. All the songs on here fit really well but not in a repeatitive dull sense.

So yeah, you've got it all here - faster tracks, mellow tracks, general quality though. I'm still not bored of this album and I've had it for ages. I'd certainly reccomend buying it on 12" though if you can - it just sounds better and it seems quite fitting really. And check out his website -tomvek.tv- it's got some good videos and MP3s.
**Enjoy**

I have to give this 5 stars cause it's good start to finish. A consummate "album." Cutting-edge yet somehow reminiscent of a lot of different genres. Drums are the best part -- those tumbling kind a la the Go Team but a little more varied. I hear, surprisingly enough, some Talking Heads. Some Soul Coughing. But it's more up to date than those guys, so don't let that throw you off. Very listenable. Sparse, but thick. That raw feel, but in layers. Not too complicated in a good way. Repetition is very catchy. Every song sounds original, even within the album. Good purchase.

Much like my review of Hint Hint's "Young Days", I heard a single cut off this Tom Vek album and was in love enough to buy the whole record immediately. "C-C (You Set Me on Fire)" is an instant indie classic, which will find it's way on to playlists of mine forever. The rest of this album was sort of downhill after this great opening track unfortunately. My girlfriend and her friends disagree. What do they know about music?

Tom Vek has issued out an outstanding debut album, recorded mostly on an 8 track recorder in his garage, We Have Sound is an album that unveils new sounds and textures with every listen. His voice is very reminiscent of M. Doughty from Soul Coughing but the music is not as simplistic or dry. From the thrashing drums and 60's feel to the opening track "CC [You Set The Fire In Me] to the dark vibe of "The Lower The Sun" every track on this album is great. Even the quirky and odd sounding "A Little Word In Your Ear" which reminds me of Wolf Parade. "Nothing But Green Lights" is probably one of the best driving songs ever, as Vek sings "you and I are going to get ourselves out of this town in a 989 Black Mercedes Benz"

This album could best be described as Garage Electronica but it meshes so many genres so well and fluidly that it can't be placed. Its a shame this album hasn't crossed over to the mainstream in the US, because with bands like Gnarls Barkley tearing up radio, Tom Vek would fit right in.

Tom Vek is fresh. Yet his sound is not really that fresh at all. I consider it to be a combo of 80s synth pop with a more 21st century feel, and even though I've heard this type of sound before it is still one of favorite albums.

To me, I think it stands the test of time because Tom Vek himself is a hell of a songwriter. The songs are indeed simple, but he makes them sound more complex. Maybe it's his lyric writing, maybe it's just his overall love of music that seeps into every song. Whatever the reason, Tom Vek will put a smile on your face. To me, that's the whole point of music in the first place.

Fans of the new wave electro-pop sound that is permeating the scene at the moment will adore this album. LCD Soundsystem fans in particular... also Juan MacLean fans.... memo to fans of Franz Ferdinand as well... this is one album you NEED to have.

Apparently Vek made this album all by himself in a garage. Knowing that, you can't help but feel he could've gotten more out of the cut 'n paste techniques that follow from working all by yourself.

Things start off great but somewhere in the fourth song I start getting a bit bored. A feeling that grows stronger as the album proceeds. His voice is appealing enough at first listen but tends too get a bit tedious after a while, 'cause there's too little variation in it. The same goes for the songs. Between songs there are enough differences but within a single song there are a few too little twists for my taste.

It's a decent album allright, but nothing spectacular.

As is the English way at the moment, there is a huge mass of hysteria garnered to anybody who gets a record contract at the moment. Tom Vek is apparently hailed as " the new Beck." It may be just me but I think they hail him that because he recorded his record in a garage and " Hey what d'ya know, their names rhyme!"

So how good is the album then? Well the first four tracks are awesome, single-handedly out-doing what most retro acts have been trying to do all along. After that the results are a bit hit and miss. The lyrics become a little bit ropey and the overall effect is one of same old-same old.

Still there is time for him to improve and there is a feeling with him that you don't quite know what he will do next. Because even though he has been hailed as the new Beck, he has been pretty low-key unlike some that are out and about today. Got to see where he's going first but overall, yes he could be one of the survivors in the crash-and-burn industry of today

This album is a wonderful example of how the English are able to produce such diverse an interesting music, compared to the rather stale, normal and bland American music. This isn't too everyones likes cos the style is different and a bit weird. Described as geeky indie rock by some, there are songs where you can just really get into and start nodding your head to and finger tapping, especially with the fantastic drumming and bass. I am sorry because I really don't know how to describe music, but it's one of those albums that you just have to listen to to find out whether you like it or not, cos if you like it, you'll love it. And after seeing him at a gig it only went to remind me just why I fell in love with infact all of the songs. His new stuff is just as good, so this is well worth however little you Americans have to pay for it compared to us Brits. Enjoy.