The Top 40 Songs of 2014
Viet Cong – “Continental Shelf”
Hovering somewhere between being a novelty and an institution in indie-rock can be a rough go. Continual refinement that’s done in service of a recognizable core identity is a goal that messes most bands up, sooner or later. While the tragedy-spurred implosion of super-promising mid-00s act Women was nothing like a blessing, it is nice that members Matt Flegel and Mike Wallace got a new start with a band as instantly rad as Viet Cong. (Their 2014 release “Cassette”, claimed as a loose lo-fi tour EP, still made our albums of the year list.) “Continental Shelf”, from their forthcoming full-length, is a little cleaner and a lot more dramatic, a too-short mix of stone-grinding noise and graceful melody. They sound like handsome Romantic Poetry professors.