ARTIST: Virginia Coalition
TITLE: Home This Year
LABEL: Bluhammock
GENRE: Rock
BITRATE: 205kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 40m total
RELEASE DATE: 2008-03-18
RIP DATE: 2008-04-02
Track List
----------
1. Home This Year 4:02
2. Santa Fe 4:24
3. Stars Align 4:00
4. Not Scared 4:08
5. Same Page 3:35
6. Sing Along 4:41
7. Lately 4:06
8. A Desperate Way 3:58
9. Look My Way 3:47
10. I Got This One 3:59
Release Notes:
From the opening bars of "Home This Year," which titles and kicks off Virginia
Coalition's fifth album, it's clear the band has progressed into rich new
musical pastures. With the track's insistent, yearning refrain of "Gotta get
home this year," the group sets the stage for a set filled with reflective songs
and introspective moods. Gone are the high-energy performances and exhilarating
sounds that were the Coalition's signature and reached an apex on their
preceding album, Live at the 9:30 Club, while their penchant for fusing genres
is deliberately muted. Instead, the bandmembers throw the spotlight on their
songwriting, notably tightening the structures, and giving prominence to
ambience and emotion. Songs like the star-crossed "Not Scared," glittering with
acoustic guitars and delicate keyboards, waft into singer/songwriter territory,
while the more grandiose "Same Page" has all the makings of a power ballad
classic. "Santa Fe" evokes the soft rock stylings of the '70s, and with Jarrett
Nicolay's banjo gently twanging away, brings to mind the likes of Poco. On the
upbeat "Stars Align," his cheery playing is counterpointed by keyboardist Paul
Ottinger's best champagne styling, like an Appalachian dinner club. So, the
Coalition haven't entirely deserted their flair for fusion. The quietly
infectious "Lately," for instance, hints at orchestral grandeur, while folding
in a tinge of '60s soul. The band's soul stylings are further illuminated on
"Look My Way," juxtaposed against an adamant rhythm and billowing electric
keyboards. The entire set is lit with a quiet optimism and a sparkling sound.
With the uplifting "Sing Along" destined for single status, the even more
anthemic "Same Page" and infectious "Home This Year" deserve to follow. The
Coalition come home to their earliest roots, and one hopes they'll stay there
forever.
___
The four members of the rock band Virginia Coalition ù singer Andrew Poliakoff,
multi-instrumentalists Paul Ottinger and Jarrett Nicolay, and drummer John
Patrick ù met in junior high school in Alexandria, VA, in music class. In the
spring of 1998, they started a local buzz by self-releasing their debut album,
The Colors of the Sound. Townburg followed in 2000, helping Virginia Coalition
(affectionately termed VACO by their fans) to expand their following to the East
Coast and the Midwest, and guys started regularly selling out venues in
Washington, DC. Their third album, Rock & Roll Party was picked up for
distribution by KOCH upon its release in January 2003 and reached Billboard's
Internet chart. The band's ever-invigorating live show didn't hurt the band's
growing fan base either ù through word of mouth, they managed to sell over
60,000 copies of their records. They played 250 shows around the country in
2003, and in August, the group won the Reader's Choice Award for the best band
in Washington, D.C., from The Washington Post, an honor they received the next
year as well. The New York-based independent label bluhammock music released
their fourth album, OK to Go, in September 2004, which was produced by Matt
Wallace (Maroon 5, the Replacements). Virginia Coalition's first live album,
Live at the 9:30 Club, was recorded at the DC club on January 6, 2006 and
released in stores that September. Tour dates through fall followed as well.