Vice Dolls – Die Trying

Vice Dolls – Die Trying / 14 Tracks / 2004 Crosscheck Records / http://www.angelfire.com/punk2/vicedolls/thevicedolls.html / http://www.crosscheckrecords.com / Reviewed 22 May 2004

Female-led punk rock in the vein of DRI and The Adolescents, breakneck, always searching for the end. Vice Dolls’ sound is intriguing at first, but without changing much in the way of the overall sound for “Bigger They Are”, “Poor Me Stories”, and “All Time Lost”, one has to wonder if the band finds itself in a rut. In fact, the first glimmers of hope come during “All Time Lost”, where the beginnings of traditional harmony are invested in Carrie’s vocals. The brooding, pseudo-black metal sound of “American Dream” and slightly slower tone of the track, coupled with the machine-like precision of Greg Jaeger, makes the track a tour through a number of sounds, all which are expertly done and compelling as all get out. Finally introducing eirself properly during “Killing Words”, Cody’s bass lines provide the perfect contrast to the higher levels of Carrie’s voice. Vice Dolls know exactly when to cut off a song, blasting through the 14 tracks on the disc quick enough to not let anything like boredom settle in.

Carrie really reaches eir’s stride during the almost-radio friendly single “Modern Guns”. Coupling a dual vocal harmony with wicked guitars and innovative time signatures, Vice Dolls are not strangers to a song that both is poppy enough to be well-received and musically fulfilling enough to approach connoisseurs of hardcore. After starting off “Die Trying” somewhat slowly, Vice Dolls really start achieving at the heights of the ability for the rest of the disc. While the first four or so tracks might have been grouped together for a similar sound, it is really when the Vice Dolls experiment with different musical flairs that their most exciting music is created.

Overall, Die Trying is really exciting for me as a reviewer because of their willingness to try different things, and not just copy a bands sound ad verbatim like so many of the bands out now that are trying to achieve popular success. The band has their own distinct sound, and simultaneously looks back to the great thrash and punk bands of the late eighties as well as the New York hardcore sound of the early to mid nineties. The Vice Dolls never let their influences influence the actual sound of the song; rather, a song construction or a guitar riff may be flavored with these influences, but the creative force is all the band.

Top Tracks: Killing Words, What Could’ve Been

Rating:7.5/10