In July we talked with Viet Cong, the controversially named Calgary four-piece that features ex-Women members Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace. They’d re-released a seven-track formerly-tour-only EP called Cassette, which was a genre-mashing collection of noisy psych and post-punk tracks. Now, the band’s preparing a debut full-length, another seven-track record that promises more cohesion than the former.
The LP’s first single, “Continental Shelf”, is all kinds of bombastic, with sweeping distorted guitar lines and Flegel’s deep, theatrical voice. Each time it bounds from its calm and steady patches to messes of bright, jagged guitar and loud vocal declamations, it threatens to go off the rails—but Viet Cong maintains total control throughout, so that these rapid shifts in sound are pleasurable but hardly overwhelming. The track grooves thanks to a driving bassline and high-pitched vocal backing. If the rest of the album is anything like this, we’re in for a fresh, energetic listening experience.
Viet Cong will be out January 20 through Jagjaguwar, and in Canada through Flemish Eye. You can preorder the record here. Check out Viet Cong’s world tour dates, which reach well into next year, below.
Viet Cong Tour Dates:
October:
24 Winnipeg, Manitoba – The Good Will
November:
17 Vancouver, British Columbia – Korean Cultural Center
18 London, England – Total Refreshment Studios
19 London, England – Scala
20 Brussels, Belgium – AB Club
21 Utrecht, Netherlands – Le Guess Who? Festival
22 Paris, France – Le Mecanique Ondulatoire
January:
28 Brooklyn, NY – Union Pool
29 New York, NY – Mercury Lounge
30 Montreal, Quebec – Bar Le Ritz PDB
31 Toronto, Ontario – The Garrison
February:
05 Manchester, England – Deaf Institute
06 Glasgow, Scotland – Broadcast
07 Leeds, England – Brudnell Social
08 Brighton, England – Green Door Store
10 Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
11 Berlin, Germany – West Germany
12 Copenhagen, Denmark – Loppen
13 Oslo, Norway – Pokalen
15 Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang
16 Rotterdam, Netherlands – Rotown
17 Kortrijk, Belgium – De Kreun
18 Brussels, Belgium – Botanique
