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Vinyl Floor

Peninsula

Written by: PP on 09/03/2012 18:50:14

Copenhagen classic rock / 80s alternative three-piece Vinyl Floor have reached their sophomore full length on "Peninsula", but their ambition level and attention to detail suggests they already have multiple records' worth of musicianship behind them. It's a concept album about the poetic contrast between utopia and dystopia, how one leads to the other, and how no one man is an island. Delving to such classical literary topics is no coincidence as the majority of their influences also lie in the decades gone by: sounds of Morrissey, Beatles, The Cure, and other 80s new wave / post punk / alternative rock names (the 60s for Beatles, obviously) are all found within their expression.

To avoid sounding completely dated, however, Vinyl Floor modernize that expression by adding in plenty of other elements like violins (by Vindla String Quartet on seven songs) and hints of the ambitious (though ultimately flawed) song structures of Coldplay on their "Viva La Vida..." record. There's even a track - "Ghost of England" - where Vinyl Floor use a similar piano-pop format as Panic! At The Disco did on their Beatles-inspired sophomore album "Pretty. Odd". Needless to say, the resulting songs are flourishing with grandeur and majestic arrangements written in the 80s style new wave rock (The Cure comes to mind in almost every song), so they are darker and more introverted than much of today's modern rock / indie / pop albums.

That said, it is unsurprising that "Peninsula" sounds the way it does in the Gaffa and Soundvenue dominated Denmark, where bands like them are hailed as the second coming of Jesus Christ, as a result turning the music fans of this country into mainstream indie/rock fans at large (vs the audiences in Sweden, Norway, or even Germany). For these people, "Peninsula" is an excellent album, especially because The Cure takes four years between their records. But unless you're obsessed with the current hipster movement of retrospective elements in your rock, Vinyl Floor's "Peninsula" is merely a decent album, nothing more, nothing less.

Download: The Ghost Of England, What Lies Ahead
For the fans of: Morrissey, The Cure, Coldplay
Listen: Myspace

Release date 20.02.2012
Karmanian Records