Lost Valentinos - Damn and Damn Again (EP)
» The Valentinos take to the road with Johnny Boy - July 12, 2006
» Van She - Forum Theatre, The, NSW - September 19, 2008
» Van She - Curly's Bar, Tas - September 14, 2008
» Lost Valentinos - Don't Try This at Home - September 12, 2007
It doesn’t seem like that long ago when you had to make a choice between being into dark, moody music that you could nod sullenly to in dimly lit rooms, and pop-tastic diddys that you could re-enact that scene from Flashdance to. Like the Sunrise fan and the Today fan, the two camps would never meet, and the idea of having a finger in both pies was unthinkable. Not so anymore, thanks to bands like Sydney five-piece The Valentinos, who combine the morose tones of The Cure with the vigour of The Pixies on their second EP Damn and Damn Again.
Opening track Face Is On the Wall provides the best example of this merger, with lead signer Nik Yiannikas’ brooding vocals driven along by the kind of eager beats that make bands like The Killers so much fun. Following track Rain has been attracting some radio attention and its easy to see why - the synths are turned up to 11, and chorus is the most catchy of this set. I was testing out my falsetto with this one for days after hearing it (turns out I have some work to do), and even having a crack at the interpretive dance moves invited by the chorus lyric ‘Rain falls on my window’.
Borrowing from Iggy Pop worked for Jet, so who can blame The Valentinos for laying down some evil-sounding vocals over the riff from I Wanna Be Your Dog and calling it Nightmoves. The urgency of this song is sharply contrasted by the sparse intro of next track Reflauta Y Reflauta, which makes you feel like a damsel watching two gun-slingers face off for your hand in a Spaghetti Western. While the opening three tracks follow a reasonably traditional verse-chorus structure, this one takes the listener on a more erratic journey of twists and turns. The overly-dramatic lyrics and story-telling vibe of this track make it feel more like a mini-musical than a single song.
The final track is one-and-a-half minutes of moody instrumental that sounds like it would have been a cool song had The Valentinos recorded its middle and end. Although it achieves its aim in closing the set with the feeling of atmospheric unease that was present through out, it is questionable justification for taking the disc from a 4-track single to a 5-track EP. But who am I to complain – this manic effort is sure to excite fans and new comers alike. The Valentinos are already attracting attention for their stirring live shows, and with the help of some more airplay they could well be the new black.
