One of the songs on Viet Cong's eclectic Cassette EP, which Mexican Summer re-released in the middle of 2014, was a scuzzy live version of Bauhaus' "Dark Entries." The four-piece (which, if you don't recall, includes Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace of late-great Calgary band Women) will release their debut full-length later this month, and this album cut "Silhouettes" further flexes the gothic urgency teased by that Bauhaus cover, storming away from the stoned psych-pop heard on the EP's mellower moments with some melodic synths and a big, gloomily sung chorus.
Flegel told FADER he wrote "Silhouettes" shortly after he was severely electrocuted at a show, to the point where blood was coming out of his ears. "Being partially deaf at the time is the only excuse I can offer you for writing a vocal line that sounds so similar to Warren Zevons' 'Werewolves of London,'" he said in an email. "Other than that, the song deals with themes that are common and dear to me: disconnection, intoxication, lapse of memory, regret, and the ability to laugh something off." Viet Cong is out January 20th via Jagjaguwar, the label that released both Women records.
Photo credit: Colin Way
