When a band says they are influenced by some of my favorite bands like The Misfits, Faith No More, Suicidal Tendencies, Dead Kennedys, Sonic Youth, Sioxsie Sue, Peter Murphy and The Damned to name a few I’m all ears. The band Vickis Dream formed in 2017 and came out with the eponymous album Vickis Dream in 2022.
It’s a twenty-six minute album that takes you for a ride starting with the drones from “Awakening.” I felt like I was marching with the army of the undead on an alien infested planet. I had no idea what was in store for me after that but I landed back on earth with a bang on “Deja Vu.” The band mixes funk, punk and more into this high energy explosion of sound which is one of the highpoints. It’s the kind of song that is a whirlwind of noise and doesn’t stop till it’s done. They explore different terrain and I thought the way they were able to change things up quickly was unique. In tandem with the music the band shouts together calling for higher and higher moments. Do you hear that shredding guitar solo?
The band mellows out with “Morbid” which is a fitting title. I thought the vocalist on this song crushed it and was able to insert the appropriate emotions into the inflection. The vocals sound strong and powerful but also heartfelt like they are coming from a very real place. My attention was focused on the vocals but the whole band delivers the goods in a very gothic inspired way that should align with some of your favorite post-punk inspired bands.
The drones on “Wendigo” create a feeling of dread which works and sets you into an almost stoic headspace. Layers of distortion drip from the guitar but momentum comes from the drums which is where the song really starts to drive. The drums pierce through the song at the right moment and take you for a ride. I heard some of their aforementioned influences on this song and thought they were able to take that and spin it in a way that sounded original.
“Desert Punks” is high energy, almost on the verge of pop punk. The two vocalists here take turns on lead and create some variation on the song that I thoroughly enjoyed, especially the end of the song where they scream “we are the desert punks.” The band continues to crush with the high energy “Vandal Hearts” and the grimy punk of “Nuke’Em All.” I was not expecting such an ambient piece to end the album but felt connected to the beginning in that it feels otherworldly.
This release has a lot of different textures, tones and approaches. The variation was consistent which doesn’t pigeonhole them on any subsequent releases. I think the genres I thought they pulled off best were the more punk and post-punk influenced songs. The first song and the closer did feel a little unnecessary to me but I still got why they were trying to create an almost movie like type narrative.
Garth Thomas