Violeta Vil

***VIOLETA VIL hail from the north of Spain by way of Venezuela, Chile and the Canary Islands. Taking their cues from Tropicalia, Shoegaze and Factory Records, they weave a gauzy tapestry of sound that hangs over paradise like an ever present possession. Lapidas y Cocoteros (Headstones and Coconuts) explores the dark underside of paradise, where old time superstition mingles with the present day. The eight songs that comprise VV's debut ride with an easy watery flow, mixed with a sadness and slow erosion of time. “Tormentas (Sonrisas)” wafts up like the dying embers of fire after a beachside séance. “Aguamarina” is awash in twangy guitar, a la “Power, Corruption and Lies” that gradually spirals...like life creeping by in the deep throes of an island fever as it slowly overcomes you. The churning shoegaze buildup in “Amish,” like the wake behind a tank ship, echoes the frustration of teenage boy trapped in old standards. Lapidas climaxes with the ‘60s backbeat and Manchester guitar stabs of “Toronjil.” Violeta Vil weaves a mystical and suspenseful hold on their listener which culminates with the feeling of whether everything experienced was truly supernatural, the cause of too many psychotropic drugs, or just a hazy island dream...probably a mixture of all three. Pressed on black and pink swirled vinyl. (STREET DATE - 4/09/2013)