Vox Vermillion - Standing Still You Move Forward (CD)

All Music Guide

One of the most stylistically unusual albums of the mid90s alternapop scene was the selftitled debut by That Dog, which set lead singer Anna Waronker's scratchy indieguitar noisepop tendencies against the folky quietude of the tripletsisters string section led by violinist Petra Haden (now of the Decemberists and Petra Haden Sings The Who Sell Out fame). The debut album by Minneapolis' Vox Vermillion has a similar sort of tension: the album's center is constantly shifting between Emily Dantuma's cello and Kelsey Crawford's hardedged, percussive piano and the thudding, rockoriented rhythm section of drummer Eric Vong and bassist Ollie Dodge. Harder edged than Rachel's or other similarly chamber musicinfluenced postrock outfits, Vox Vermillion never neglect the "rock" side of that hyphen: this is definitely the work of a pop band with idiosyncratic arrangement ideas, not highart dilettantes playing at their artsy idea of rock music. Crawford's appealingly girlish vocals would sound just ...as swell in front of a straightforward guitar band, but the quirky arrangements and novel sounds of songs like the abrasive but catchy "Controller" gives Standing Still You Move Forward a novel and intriguing sound that suits them well. - Stewart Mason, All Music Guide Read more Less