Is This the End or Just the Start of Something?

dfjacobs — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 15:00:31 +0000

I apologize, I couldn’t resist the brainless pun, but isn’t it better than “Goodbye Cruel World?” (Don’t ask why those are your only two options, my creativity knows bounds). In terms of an answer, it is most certainly the end of something (the exact title of front man Ramesh Srivastava’s announcement). For those of you still ignorant to the premise of this article, I’m referring to the disintegration of the once (blog) celebrated group, Voxtrot. Their incendiary rise and inevitable fall were not without their glorious moments though. The tremendous hype affixed to the group was not born out of thin air, but rather the quite justifiable excitement generated by their brief yet explosive debut EP’s. A mastery of lyrics, a self-aware yet superb vocal performance, perfectly harmonious guitar and bass lines, and brilliant percussion, are all prevailing features of their early releases. Mothers, Sisters, Daughters and Wives narrowly edges out Raised By Wolves EP for my favorite of their oeuvre, but both are incredible examples of everything there is to love about Voxtrot.

Raised By Wolves EP features one of the top 5 most earnest and vulnerable love songs of all-time, “The Start of Something.” There are certain things that you cannot control about songs, state of mind when you first heard it, people you associate with it and such, but all those things only add to my intense affinity for the song. To me it perfectly captures budding love, the intense rapture and vulnerability of feeling enthralled by another. And while I have heard “Come by and see me, I’m a love letter away” and “If I die clutching your photograph, don’t call me boring, It’s just ’cause I like you” mocked, I rank each among the likes of “losing love is like a window in your heart, everybody sees you’re blown apart, everybody sees the wind blow,” as some of my favorite lyrics ever written. Not to mention that the melody is simply power pop perfection.

Ultimately the hype of those EP’s, and comparisons to the likes of The Smiths, Belle & Sebastian, and The Cure, led to Voxtrot, their first full-length LP and one of the first harbingers of their end. While certainly not a disaster, their full-length LP does not hold a candle to their previous releases. Tracks “Kid Gloves” and “Firecracker” are great power pop songs, but their successes are inconsistently replicated on the rest of the album. Voxtrot waited so long to release their full-length album, that the expectations were implausibly lofty. The reaction to Voxtrot was critical condemnation and artistic stasis.

Which brings us to the present. After two final shows of the “Goodbye Cruel World” tour at Bowery Ballroom last weekend, Voxtrot is now defunct. They gave a passionate and surprisingly tight performance. They remain extremely impressive and fun to watch, with Mr. Srivastava’s funky, almost swimming-like dance moves and his coordinated jumps with bassist Jason Chronis. In response to “Voxtrot forever!” chants, he joked, “What’s that expression? It’s better not to fade away but to… burn in a fiery inferno.” And while Voxtrot may become one of music’s biggest “what ifs,” I’d rather rejoice in their numerous accomplishments than dwell on what could have been. They’re certainly not the greatest band to grace the earth, but they were outstanding, and made an impact on many lives (or at least iTunes libraries… same thing?) Mr. Srivastava’s impressive lyrical adroitness manifested itself one last time Friday night as he ended “Your Biggest Fan” by crooning “I used to be your biggest fan, I used to be your biggest fan, I used to be… in a band.”

The Animal Show » Voxtrot

Is This the End or Just the Start of Something?