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September 2017




  

Choir Vandals
'Dark Glow'
CD Review By: James Carlson



'Dark Glow,' the debut full-length by St. Louis four-piece Choir Vandals, is the sort of album that takes up residence in each listener's head and lives there as a musical guest even when it isn't playing. As such, it demands repeat listens, drawing one back to its songs again and again. In a time in music when listeners too often receive an excess of the same, albeit with tiny variations, from all genres and subgenres, it is a welcome experience to come across a sound as unique and enjoyable as the one Choir Vandals' owns, which is both nostalgic and contemporary, impressively fusing together elements of post-punk, indie pop, and alternative. There is a burning energy and range of powerful emotion running through the band's slow to mid tempo and beautifully layered songs, as well as something that is simultaneously light and dark, joyful and melancholy, broken and intact.

Choir Vandals' 'Dark Glow' is outstanding from start to finish. The tracks that really stand out, however, are the following: "A Place to Hide," "Head in the Oven," "The Gardener," "Lucifer Yellow," and "Hard to Hold."

Since 2013, Choir Vandals have released a handful of EPs and a split with Alcoa. Much of the material on those releases is marked by quality, but the songs on 'Dark Glow' show a band taking one big step up towards the peak of their potential. And it will no doubt cause listeners to impatiently await what is to come next.

'Dark Glow' by Choir Vandals was released July 17, 2017 by Animal Style Records.








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