"I want the stars to fall," croons Mono In VCF vocalist Charles Perales on "Modern Nocturne" with a New Romantic-styled English elegance that Bryan Ferry would salute him for. Ironically, while the U.K. is divided between the post-punk revival and feeding from the scraps of Britpop, it took a young group from Tacoma, Washington in the U.S. to remind us of what we once did best.
Mono In VCF are a special band, eeriely reminiscent of vintage Echo & the Bunnymen, Roxy Music, and The The while not sounding as if they're trying to consciously ape them. The group breezes through slices of moody '60s psychedelia so expertly that it makes one want to check the ages on their driver's licenses. Where did these lads come from? "Warhol" oozes with Bunnymen-esque otherworldly atmospherics courtesy of interlocking guitars from Mike Krushka and Hunter Lea, also the band's dream-weaving keyboardist. (The Phil Spector-ish drums from Jason Falk are a nice touch.)
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"Modern Nocturne" is among the EP's high moments with its epic swirl of synthesizers and Jordan Luckman's pulse-pounding bass lines while "In Los Angeles" is more intimate, uniting Smiths-like jangle with marching percussion and a breathtaking chorus.
If "The Voltage Control EP" had a flaw, it'd be this: Please do not tease us with four tunes of five-star exquisiteness and then bolt for the exit. The pulsating "Ultra Love" alone will drive one mad with an insatiable hunger for more.
Mono In VCF are daring their English heroes from the '80s New Wave: Beat this, they seem to be saying. Midge Ure, Talk Talk, the Psychdelic Furs - are any of you listening? Be very afraid.
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