VCR – Power Destiny
Side One Dummy
Richmond, Virginia’s VCR comes out of the sophomore locker room with Power Destiny, an intensely quirky rock record made with keyboards in place of guitars – in fact, three of them. With varied influences such as Mozart, Depeche Mode, and original Nintendo music a la Castlevania, and insane live shows of mythic proportions they finally recorded a six-track, 15 minute EP in a barn no less. After the word of mouth spread like a brush fire, Side One quickly snatched up the band and re-released the self titled barn recordings before releasing Power Destiny.
According to keyboardist Casey Tomlin, they’re not a 80’s throwback band, just a normal rock band that play everything live, just using keyboards instead. They definitely play like a rock band, with spastic punk rock bursts and frantic vocals, but the 80’s tag is virtually inescapable because of the keys. And that’s not the only component. It’s also way each song is mixed, along with the synthesized and very danceable drapery that flows with a Devo and Gary Numan breeze. So as much as they jumped to steer clear of the ‘80s crack in the sidewalk, VCR has pretty much cemented itself with the label it desperately wanted to avoid.
