Written by Daniela Ruíz
Following a string of three amazing singles, the Minnesota punk-band Vial released their sophomore record, "Loudmouth" on July 30th, 2021.
Contrary to their debut “Grow Up”, which comes out as a more laid-back project, “Loudmouth” comes all guns blazing since the start, featuring fast, distorted guitars, ear-crushing drums, and screams that just add a little extra that helps push the songs over the top.
Another thing that differentiates from their debut effort is the topics touched in the songs. As their first focused on past loves and the struggles of growing up, “Loudmouth” expands their range by mostly tackling toxic masculinity and the state of the punk scene at the moment, how the white men of yesteryear have a hard time accepting the growing appearance of female and queer bands, showing how tired they are of dealing with the old punks and men in relationships.
This new face shows itself since the beginning of the first track, “Ego Death”, which starts with a guitar progression straight out of a horror movie, following by banging drums and a wall of distorted guitars with sarcastic sounding vocals accompanied by ear-piercing screams towards the end of the song, all of which get your heart pumping and give you a panorama for what´s to come. The lyrical theme shows from here too, as the song's about people that stay on Twitter criticizing your every move, trying to belittle you by insulting you and then calling it a joke just to make you "the bad one".
The second track, "Violet", starts with a very post-rock guitar melody before introducing us to a gothier, more relaxed song than the opener, using bright guitars and exchanging the screams from the best track for vocal accompaniment on the chorus. This also changes the topic, by talking about wanting to be with somebody with whom things don't seem very clear, but still being willing of giving it all up for them, which hits in lines like "I wanna be your all-or-nothing" and "I would disappoint my momma for you".
What follows are "Planet Drool" and "Mr. F**k You", which return to the distorted guitars and the screams to talk about men. The first one is about the men in the scene that pretend to be into the ethos of the new generation to date the women in it. The second is about regretting going out with some guy who screwed you over and leaving him clear that you´re not coming back when he crawls back to you.
Next, we have a nice change of pace that confirms that we have heard so far aren't the only tricks up their sleeves, neither sonically nor lyrically.
Something More and Thumb talk about loves that just wasn't meant to be and take the softness of their debut while combining it with the rougher edge of the louder tracks on the record, adding a sweeter flavor to the mix that rather than slowing things down, adds a layer of depth and variety that keeps the old fans happy while retaining the audience of their new style.
After that, we come right back to fast, blasting punk rock on "Piss Punk", a track about how repetitive the cis men of the scene have become, trying to appropriate the successes of women and queers of the scene and talking deceptively when referring to them.
"Therapy Pt 2" starts slow just to explode in the chorus and get you into the mood of the track, which is about someone that pretends to care about you just to tell you about their struggles but refuses to do the same for you or even be your friend when you need them.
Then comes the record's lead single "Roadkill", a full-on power fantasy of revenge marked by the western-like intro and the lyrics talking about just hitting fake punks with your car and getting away with it just laughing into the horizon.
Their record begins to round off in another nice change of pace in "Vodka Lemonade", which retakes the louder stuff from their new record and reworks it into their new style in a song that touches on the anxiety of not being able to connect with people and just wanting to go home, which is beautifully represented with the melancholic vocal performance and the welcomed addition of trumpet towards the end of the song.
Next is “Addict”, a sweet, bright song about not being able to get off things, and how hard it is to break the routine when you feel like it will be the end, even when you can't keep living in that way.
To end the record, we have "21", a more laid-back, dance-y track about growing up, seeing your friends go, and just have to get through your life even when it all seems blue and that you won't get far by yourself. An excellent conclusion to the album that connects the reflective, calmed Vial from the debut to the more aggressive and louder Vial from today.
"Loudmouth" is the perfect sophomore album, as it's both able to retain what made their first especial while greatly adding to their arsenal, taking on a wider range of topics, evolving their sound, and taking previous ideas to new and exciting directions which leave the listener eager to listen to what comes next, proving that they both can turn it up to eleven while writing smaller, personal songs that complement their louder selves.
To support Vial you can follow them on Twitter @vialband and by picking up some merch via the Get Better Records website!
Make sure to listen to "Loudmouth" and let us. know what you think by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!