(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): VICTOR SHORES

Wednesday, 4 January 2023

VICTOR SHORES

Band: VICTOR SHORES
Genres: Punk / Rock / Hard Emo Rock / Post-Hardcore / Emo / Alternative

Related artists: Truck Stop Heroes, Rara Avis, Three Alcatraz, Kill The King, Night Of Broken Glass, Motée, Benedict, Casanova Breakdown, The Shmelbys, DieAna, Faster On Building, Quick To Fall, The Throne, The Scroll, The Earth and Everything In It, and Pilot Brian.

Country: Minnesota U.S.A.
Years Active: 2011-present
For fans of: You'll Live, Two Knights, Sincere Engineer, Tiny Moving Parts, Modern Rifles, Pack Sounds, Pierre, Motion City Soundtrack and Prize The Doubt.

Label(s): Self Released / Tomb Tree / No Funeral Records / The Ghost Is Clear Records / Skeletal Lightning / Turn Of The Century Records

I became aware of VICTOR SHORES when I was inserting myself into the online screamo community around 2012, mostly due to soon releasing alongside The Ghost Is Clear Records and Skeletal Lightning who were dabbling in this sound and had crossed paths with the band. They seemed to be lumped in with The Reptilian, Two Knights, Boy Parts, etc. and although I dug seeing them live, the twinkly stuff generally doesn't penetrate my screamo exterior. It should be noted here that I was completely wrong about the band's sound and hadn't properly checked them out. So fast forward to mid-2022 and Nate from No Funeral Records asks if I wanted to co-release the new VICTOR SHORES album, but on cassette. Having recently fallen hard for the new Prize The Doubt single I decided I'd at least check it out. Instantly my preconceived notions were crushed like a mosquito, as I had this band all wrong. This wasn't twinkle emo, it was hard emo punk, and now I know the difference.

Yeah I could probably end the review there lol, but I'll quickly fly through this discography. The band's early material is okay, relatively standard emo punk with yelled/sung vocals. The instrumentals on 'The People' EP and 'Sports In General' definitely show the band's style that holds up to this day, albeit a bit softer (especially the drumming) and lower-fi on the band's debut EP. The vocals are the primary difference between the old and the new, with David's voice still maturing in the mid-2010's on the '4-Way split' and 'You'll Get Better At It' EP. Then the band didn't release anything new for more than half-a-decade. So there was this upward momentum but historically speaking there looks like a blank spot (if you'd like to know more about that time, and everything else VICTOR SHORES, you should probably check out this podcast that I did with them) but in actuality the band were honing their craft, so the jump in overall cohesiveness, skill, and (especially) melodies is pretty big.

The self titled 'Victor Shores' digital and cassette (via Tomb Tree right here) release was on November 21st, 2022 with vinyl (via No Funeral) coming in 2023 (pre-orders open now). The instrumentals continue their preciseness but inject tighter songwriting and much shorter songs. But it's the vocals, oh my god, the vocals have gone from decent to sugary/sweet/soaring amazingness and pushes this album into brand new territory for the band. Honestly, David's voice is so good I'd be very interested to hear their older work live because I feel like he could make all of those songs sound totally new. Enough gushing (I love you David/Bryce/Donnie) I meeeeeeeean "Canoe" and "Chromies" (premiered on this blog right here!) are two highly infectious, positive, and reminiscent tracks providing strong personal narratives throughout that focus on growth and maturation as well as looking back fondly at the past. There's a very good instrumental jam titled "Interlude" that is anything but as the song is a fully fleshed-out and catchy minute and 14. Then there are the pillars of this album: "Bleach" has an ending so fucking catchy that my two kids sing along with me at home, "Batman" is a slow build with another beautifully woven vocal melody (good luck not singing "I haaaaaate...going hoooooowooooome, when I'm in my head again"), "T2: Terminated" is probably my favourite song instrumentally and the melodic hooks in the vocals waste no time in sinking into yer goddamn ear-gullet, closer "Drowning" is another hooky-ass jam that was released a year before the album came out and also sports a music video (embedded below). So fucking good!

The new 'Victor Shores' LP is definitely one of my most listened to albums of 2022, but don't expect a list this year because I don't have time. You can catch VICTOR SHORES at Zegema Beach Records Fest 2023 this summer (May 5th-7th) in Chicago (Subterranean) because this new self-titled album was one of my most listened to records in 2022. Snag tickets here.

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DISCOGRAPHY

2011 - People EP (stream/donate/download here)

2012 - Sports In General 7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2015 - 4-Way split 7" (stream/donate/download here)

2016 - You'll Get Better At It 7"EP (stream/donate/download here)

2022 - Summer Tour 2011 digital single (stream/donate/download here)

2022 - Victor Shores cassette/12"LP (stream/donate/download here)

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(2022) VICTOR SHORES - "Bleach" (from 'Victor Shores')

https://youtu.be/UBGpFR5Mlgs