Vinyl Theatre – Starcruiser

By Ryan G

Like many, my first time hearing the name “Vinyl Theatre” was in the context of a twenty one pilots tour. However, I wouldn’t see them live until this past April when they played the role of direct support to Vesperteen at the good old Newport Music Hall.

Starcruiser might be one of the most aggressive pop-rock records I’ve ever heard. This isn’t a hard rock record. It’s new wave, and yet it isn’t. There is a keytar in their live sets, so that ought to give you a bit of an idea.

All the elements of being a modern day 80s band are there, and yet the end result somehow is something completely new. The production is very heavy. Some might call it overproduced, but I think it’s just right for the sound they’re going for. “Vandals” is a good example of the layered approach to production the band takes: a back track crescendos the track into a verse, and when the verse seems to ramp up even further, the song drops back into something airy, more stripped down (but definitely not stripped down in the traditional sense). There might even be a subtle change in volume. Kind of like when you’re watching TV, and the commercials are louder and at a different cadence than the show you’re watching.

Another thing I appreciate about this band is their ability to communicate passion in a way that vears toward emo music, while remaining danceable. And this isn’t merely taking a serious topic and making ironically cheerful, Foster the People “Pumped Up Kicks” style. See “Hold Me Down,” in which the chorus ponders “who’s gonna hold me down, as I break? Who’s gonna love me now, as I change?” The questioning in the melody and the still relatively cheery groove somehow seem to complement each other well, which I think is a feat.

I have a feeling this record will be overlooked by many as being too pop for the larger blogs and not worthy enough of coverage by the pop oriented sites since the band left Fueled By Ramen. But in this case, the record ought to transcend any record label. It might not make waves on Top 40, but it’s still a fun pop-rock record with some interesting wrinkles.