Something About Vampires and Sluts

This quintet hailing from Myrtle Beach create their own weird and genuinely quirky form of power pop punk. If their tunes are any indication, they are cribbing influences from everything ’80s and beyond, as the songs are comprised of a calculated mishmash of instrumentation, and vocals (courtesy of Michael Wood) that are reminiscent of both early Robert Smith and more recently White Stripes’ front-man Jack White. That said, the vocal stylings on this disc are something of an acquired taste. Musically, the arrangements are equally frenetic, but at the same time strangely fascinating. One almost wants to pull away the vocal layer and listen to the instrumental wanderings of the tracks alone — they hold curious secrets and we want to know what they are! This band has something, but it appears that even they might not know what it is yet or how to rein it in for maximum effect. In an album where one can hear strains of everything from Siouxsie and the Banshees to the Sultans of Ping, the listener is left yearning to hear more of Something About Vampires and Sluts’ own sound, their own unique voice as it were. If the band can weather the ins and outs of this debut release, their follow-up will likely be something to keep our ears open for — when they finally come into their own, they are likely to do it with a bang.