Van She - V

The long-time-coming debut LP from dance floor favourites Van She is a sensuous soundscape of familiar sounds combined with adventurous digressions from the expected. The Sydney four piece have enjoyed quiet success following their stellar EP in 2005; spawning throbbing hits such as Kelly and Sex City, and convincing 80s devotees that they are in fact onto a good thing. Early energetic support slots for bands such as End of Fashion elevated them to ‘up-and-comer’ status, as they eclipsed the headlining act in terms of originality and fervor. And the fact that the foursome was quite easy on the eye didn’t detract from their overall appeal, either. Recent support slots amongst the ilk of Daft Punk, Phoenix, Pnau, The Bravery and Sneaky Sound System has seen the popularity of both Van She and Van She Tech (their DJ-set enterprise) erupt, alongside countless festival appearances.

These long stints of touring culminated in the trek to Berry, south of Sydney, with the band spending two weeks holed up writing the bulk of V’s material. London was calling in the form of renowned Konk Studios, where celebrated UK producer Jim Abbiss (Massive Attack, Arctic Monkeys, DJ Shadow) aided in the execution of the atmospheric juggernaut that V was to be.

Memory Man is perfect as the opener, providing a lush, Mercury Rev-esque backdrop for tracks to come and Channel Ten’s once flavour-of-the-month tune Cat & the Eye does not disappoint. Changes channels Phoenix in a nonsensical lyric fashion, whilst fans of the EP will be captivated in the layered effort that is Strangers, aiding in V’s confident assault on the usually bland ARIA charts. It Could Be The Same is an easygoing, Soulwax-tinged tune destined for an indie dancefloor near you, with the added pomp of an 80s synth solo. However, here it seems V ceases to amaze. Aside from the continued nod to Soulwax in form of The Sea and the irresistible disco beat of Talkin’, V dies the slow and painful death much akin to the sensation of a baaad come down. I was hoping the inclusion of originally-awesome Kelly would rekindle my initial adoration for the album, but the reworked version is too fast and too happy for my liking. If it ain’t broke…

The chorus of So High is extremely reminiscent of The Beatles Getting Better, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but is lacking in the freshness we’ve come to expect from Van She. Overdone Virgin Suicide is an attempt at creating French pop with anthemic tendencies, yet is somewhat lacking in hooks. Closer A Sharp Knife can be easily overlooked, failing to inspire a thirst for more.

Provided Van She maintain their reputation as an electric live act, and choose to craft more sexy, less obviously overdone tunes in the future, perhaps another faultless release (such as their EP)is in their midst. Here’s hoping.