Before I start my review, I would just like to say, as a disclaimer, that I originally thought this was a Minnesota-grown act. It's not. I know this column is called Local Musings, but for this, the Lions' Roar last issue of the spring semester, I guess I'm going to switch it up. I will talk about a man who, although has played all over the U.S. , I still don't like.
Chris Leo, formerly of the indie rock bands Native Nod, The Van Pelt and The Lapse, has now moved onto a solo project that he calls Vague Angels.
More of a concept than a band, Leo has combined song writing and book writing to create a live show based off the book he has written. In this book, “White Pigeons,” he has included a CD of musical recordings that are from the fictitious band in the book. I experienced this live musical book on tape at the Turf Club in St. Paul .
Musicians like Leo make it obvious to me why so many of these underground indie acts stay so obscure. They might play it off as not selling out, but to be able to sell out, someone must want to buy it. More often than not, underground acts, like Leo, leave me annoyed and slightly itchy. He seemed like a nice enough guy. He was good looking with painfully trendy clothes and matching haircut. When he got on stage, I really wanted to like him. He introduced himself as Vague Angels, which caused my eyes to slightly roll back into my head. He is one person. Unless your first name is Vague and your last name is Angels, it's a pretentious name that no one else gets.
Leo explained the book/CD concept, which got me curious and eager to hear what this fictitious band sounds like.
Turns out Vague Angels sounds like two or three repetitive, semi-dissonant chords with cryptic and confusing lyrics. This is all delivered in a singsong and practically spoken-word style. It ends up sounding like he's trying too hard.
I could tell Leo has been doing it like this for years because his annoying atonal sound has been perfected. Every time a song ended and another began, I secretly hoped that it would be different. Unfortunately, I was, alas, left hoping.
He played one song and made random references to household objects or colors in no particular order. When the song was over, he said, “Yeah, that was a pretty good morning.” He then introduced the next song as, “This one sucked.” He then played what my untrained ears heard as practically the same song.
Perhaps, to fully understand the lyrics and the sound, I would have to read the book. If only every band came with such a manual. Unfortunately, the majority of people who heard Vague Angels probably haven't read the book, and I can only guess they were left as confused as I was. |
