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Vincent & Mr. Green
Someone in this band has been to hell and back; the vocalist emulates enough emotions to make a manic depressive feel good about the way life is going. Depravity, arson, prostitution, obsession, betrayal, manipulation, and alcoholism are just a few of the topics the lyricist conjures up in the first half of the album. The music is a fitting combination of manipulated beats, chamber music, sickly lounge deliveries, and darkly lit soundscapes fluctuating between old phonograph recordings from the 1920's and blazingly confrontational arrangements that could've only been born out of the heart of a psychopath.Ipecac
If the drama of the album is to be believed, the entire recording is for the father of the female vocalist. More than a few songs mention a father figure directly and one track is titled "Daddy." Whether houses are being mysteriously burnt down or someone is getting wrapped up in a love affair that is decidedly one-sided, there's little to be happy about on any of these songs. But the music is so damned intriguing and varied that even "Whiskey Bound," a song about a father leaving (the vocalist's?), feels absolutely spell-binding. After a slight lull right at the beginning of the album (parts of "Daddy" and "$2.18" sound forced), the album stays thoroughly consistent. At times there are violins and horns moaning away underneath the gaps, whispers, shouts, and moans of the singer and at other times heavily distorted guitars and slimy drums scatter about randomly. The first part of the album resolves itself into a twangy piece of melancholy that aborts itself and comes away sounding as like a soul, gospel, and funk song all wrapped into one. On the other hand, "Will" is a piece that recalls vocal jazz arrangements and all the glory of hip-hop beats pieced together to form the perfect, underlying groove. The music is sometimes desperate and forlorn and at other times it is absolutely cocky and incensing. There's no denying that some songs are outright sexy, but at the same time there are points on this record where everything sounds sleazy. That's part of the appeal; these musicians aren't afraid to get things a little dirty. Vincent & Mr. Green also happen to be provocative and smart enough to keep things varied. A lot of these songs are really pop tunes in disguise, but their arrangements and use of texture keep the album seductive, mysterious, and addicting from beginning to end. The end, in particular, is a superb one. "When We Were We" and "Dance (Part II)" both stand out as two of the best songs on the album. 
