Video Hippos - Unbeast the Leash Review
by Erika Szabo
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The bands in Baltimore's Wham City collective - Dan Deacon, Santa Dads, Ecstatic Sunshine, Ponytail, OCDJ, and Blood Baby to name a few - give listeners the oomph and eccentricities that make them out of the ordinary. They truly are works of art; just see bands like these in show. One band in mind is Baltimore's budding art school kid future shock duo, Video Hippos. Similar yet surprisingly different from their cohorts, Video Hippos shred and pound through their songs, playing in close proximity of their hang-your-head, sweat soaked audience. Yet despite their intimate behavior, detachment towards listeners of all kinds - whether casual swayer or full-blown dance nerd - is slightly hinted at. When recognized on its own, Video Hippos display the charisma and character of any upbeat megaphone crooning danger duo, but amidst the Baltimore scene Video Hippos is one of the more calm, downer bands. To properly decode the actual angle Video Hippos are trying to portray would be a mystery to any listener. Breezy opener "Toothsub" welcomes listeners with pleasant beats coated in Video Hippos' typical static echoes. "The List" is one of the most melancholy songs on Unbeast the Leash. Megaphone trills and low synths stepped up with drums being beat to a pulp make no difference, as this distant yet hopeful track plays. "Take It" picks up it's pace with distorted vocals and beaming electronica beats. The guitar strums and jumpy drumming of "Bear Fight" throb under lonely keys and more detached vocals. Jumpy, electro pop anthem "KoolShades" makes it's way into whistles and ardent beats. The emotive "Downfall" stimulates and slowly wears the listener down, hence the ironic song title. "You Thought I Was Dead" is pure static echo, while the neurotic "Sick Dolphin" pumps listeners up with amp fuzz and static squeals - truly a dance worthy, acid-beat frenzy. "Rider" pounds and pulsates to muffled, megaphone vocals and melodic keys. "Laser Jet" is as nostalgic as Unbeast the Leash will get, with their child like dream wagon guiding listeners into their cheery, innocent memories. "Wages of Fear" grows in age, but not by very much. This track is similar to the rebellion of a pre-adolescent, as obnoxious as ever - the age, not the song. 8-bit beats open to emotional guitar riffs in "Narwhals" while the obscure, yet pleasant "Man's Man" concludes Unbeast the Leash with organ keys and alien vocals.
Positive response to Unbeast the Leash is inevitable, but the overall sound of this youthful album is distant and even a little sad. Providing a similar aesthetic, but from different angles, the Wham City collective give listeners different modes of appeal. All are creative and media driven, but Video Hippos seems different in a sense, as though what they offer to listeners are merely their simple, rhythmic beats in toy like synths and effect pedals. If anything, Unbeast the Leash will stimulate listeners and slowly wean them off of the pseudo-cheeriness of the album. Not to say this is bad, but where's the fun in all of this? Seeming slightly introverted, Video Hippos don't try to offer anything more than what they can give. And if they plan on remaining this way, then we should appreciate them for what they are.
Track Listing
1. Toothsub
2. The List
3. Take It
4. Bear Fight
5. Koolshades
6. Downfall
7. You Thought I was Dead
8. Sick Dolphin
9. Rider
10. Lazer Jet
11. Wages of Fear
12. Narwhals
13. Man's Man
CD Info and Links
Video Hippos - Unbeast the Leash
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