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Romanian Names (Bonus Track Version)

John Vanderslice

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iTunes Review

John Vanderslice works with texture. The troubadour favors instrumentation that borders on the ornate without overtaking the material. Stacks of harmonies, flashes of keyboards and plenty of hummable melodies set to inscrutable lyrics that keep the mind puzzled serve as his working mode. In effect, Vanderslice records pop music that’s pop only on the surface. Once the top layer is peeled away, the complexity begins. “C & O Canal” could be a folk sea chantey for Crosby, Stills & Nash. “Too Much Time” represents a majestic power ballad that never seeks the power of the arena, though it always threatens. Over the years, Vanderslice has indulged his engineering side and made sonically pretty records and Romanian Names is no exception. “Too Much Time” shuffles with an alluring unpretentious gait. “D.I.A.L.O.” flows with a slippery synth worming its way underneath a sweetly pained lead vocal. ”Forest Knolls” works a ticking time meter into a sparse, ominous arrangement. Vanderslice sounds relaxed and playful, perhaps secure in the knowledge that he’s working out one of his finest albums to date.

Customer Reviews

somewhere between the first and second half...

Having been a huge fan of everything after "Cellar Door", while appreciating everything that came before, this album seems to fall between these two areas. It definitely is as mature-sounding as his latter work, but the tone and lyrical content seem to draw from his earlier work. "Too Much Time" is definitely the best song out of the bunch, while "D.I.A.L.O.", "Tremble and Tear", "C & O Canal", "Fetal Horses", "Sunken Union Boats" and "Summer Stock", while exploring new directions and ideas, are all strong JV efforts. Not as good as "Cellar Door" or "Emerald City", but still great music by a great artist. Looking forward to seeing him play at the Warhol Museum again.

Excellent, Beautiful, SOLID.

This album is a very solid Vanderslice record. I think it is my new favorite. If I had to pick my key tracks they would be: C&O Canal, Too Much Time, D.I.A.L.O, and Romanian Names. Everything else is just as good but these have caught my fancy first.

another solid record from JV!

I pre-ordered this album a few weeks ago and have listened to it non-stop ever since! An incredibly melodic record with tremendous diversity of style and dynamic throughout. If you don't have any of his other albums, I recommend starting with this one (and then downloading everything else by him that you can get your hands on). This is by far my favorite album of 2009!!

Biography

Born: May 22, 1967 in Gainesville, FL

Genre: Alternative

Years Active: '00s, '10s

Raised in Florida, Georgia, and Maryland, indie rock innovator John Vanderslice grew up listening to a mix of Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Kinks, and Southern rock, which instilled an eclectic musical vocabulary that informed his own songwriting. Forced into piano lessons as a child, he eventually picked up the guitar in the eighth grade and formed several bands during his teen years. His songwriting added influences from David Bowie, the Beatles, Bob Dylan, King Crimson, XTC,...
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