Send "Violens " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Violens’ debut is baffling. They can produce a veritable smorgasbord of sounds, but it’s clear they’re not quite sure, much like their proggier and poppier peers Everything Everything, what to do with these sounds. There are more lovely pastiches and terrific tunes and magnificent textures here than most fit into two albums, let alone one, but there can always be too much of a good thing, and Violens are either trying to please everyone, or just trying to figure out how to please themselves.Listening to tracks like euphoric first single “Acid Reign” and opener “The Dawn of Your Happiness”, it’s clear that Violens have a clear talent for something that most struggle with: an ear for a gorgeous melody. “Dawn of…” is an uplifting anthem, a promising opening track riding upon a reverb-ridden clang-fest of a backing track.“You lay awake beside me, troubled and afraid” they sympathise, but assure that “the dawn of your happiness is rising”. It sounds like hope trying to break through confusion and fear, and it’s unsure what comes out on top by the end, but the battle is an exhilarating one. Something really exciting is “Full Collision”, a dreamy new wave jam that owes much to the melodic mastery of the Smiths, tainted by an eerie undercurrent of Joy Divisive reverb and uneasy chord changes. The track skips along at a carefree pace, hinting all the while at a storm brewing, one which eventually erupts in the final 60 seconds in terrifying yet gorgeous wall of guitars and huge pads. It’s quite an achievement in under 3 minutes. Followed by the aforementioned “Acid Reign”, Amoral’s opening 3 tracks is a triumphant psychedelic hat trick....full text |
| Thelineofbestfit |
| Guess what? It’s another exciting, blogged, buzzworthy band from New York. I can’t even tell if I’m being sarcastic anymore. I am kind of getting sick of typing an N and a Y into the description of another review though. What I’m even sicker of is the incessantly high consistency of the bands exporting from the island of Manhattan and it’s four brotherly boroughs. I constantly feel like I’m missing out on something. Violens are a 4 piece from New York. They spell their name like that so it’s halfway between violence and the instrument. I’d like to turn that into some beautiful analogy on the delicate power of their music, but it’s just not going to work. Amoral isn’t really defined enough to be lumped into any category. It’s MGMT without the unlistenable audacity; it’s The Bravery without the bombast; it’s Interpol without the darkness. The record seems to sit amongst its influences and identity without ever really settling. I’m just finding it difficult to pick something out of its twelve tracks that really grabs me. Several listens and in and I’m still fighting to find some familiarity that doesn’t stem from racking my brains to try and figure out what else it reminds me of. One thing it does have though, throughout, is a glistening and glorious atmosphere. It’s a beautifully played and produced album. Choruses swell, the bass darts and dribbles, while the drums occasionally roll into what sounds like a full on marching band at Her Majesty’s service. It’s crammed with different sounds, sweeping tones, and songs that stray from verse, chorus structure. So what’s the problem?...full text |
| Pitchfork |
| A few months ago, Violens gave away a mixtape to create anticipation for their debut LP, Amoral. It featured various remixes, a previously viral song written with Chairlift's Caroline Polachek set to the video for Justin Bieber's "Never Let You Go", as well as a cut called "Space Around the Feel Station", a mashup of Washed Out's "Feel It All Around" and Slowdive's "Souvlaki Space Station". The result sounded exactly how you'd expect-- it's a god-awful mess-- but it also highlighted an important facet of the NYC new-wave outfit's personality: They aren't cool, and they never really have been, even though bandleader Jorge Elbrecht did time in the enigmatic, now-dormant 1980s-worshipping collective Lansing-Dreiden. Violens embrace clean production, anthemic choruses, and a lack of reverb-obscured shyness-- they're so sonically far away from the hip-to-death Brooklyn scene that they might as well be in New Jersey. Of course, all that is catnip for those longing for the early-aughts halcyon days of shiny Manhattan rock (the Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Interpol), and Amoral will undoubtedly play like gangbusters to that crowd. And why shouldn't it? If nothing else, Elbrecht and his cohorts have made a worthy debut that evokes early-80s new pop, Nagel paintings, and neon lighting as much as it does the stadium-sized downcast bombast of Echo and the Bunnymen. That messed-up, multi-color face on the cover might hint at the band's slight psych leanings, but it certainly doesn't represent how the record sounds, which is expensive and expansive. Rhythms crisply snap, guitars sound bright, and even the occasional torrent of feedback is slathered in gold. Violens are at their best when they keep things snappy and upbeat, like on the downward spiral of "Acid Reign" or the Boo Radleys-recalling "The Dawn of Your Happiness Is Rising". By contrast, they get themselves a little lost on Amoral's back half, as "Trance-Like Turn" and "Another Strike Restrained" turn the course from sweep-y to sleepy. Meanwhile, the record's genre diversions, such as the paisley pop of "Violent Sensation Descends" and the stormgazing "Could You Stand to Know?", suggest that while Violens may know their sonic touchstones inside and out, they're better sticking to the haircut-obsessed sounds showcased on Amoral's standouts. They're not going to book any D.I.Y. basement shows or anything by doing so, but when you sound as huge as these guys do, the idea of a stage itself becomes irrelevant....full text |
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