ALBUM REVIEW: Loudmouth – Vial

August 11, 2021 Katie Conway-Flood

Indie-punk quartet VIAL hail from Minneapolis and are the freshest and feistiest new band on the scene. Brimming with energy and a fervent passion to put out their societal message through their fired up brand of punk music, the band have recently dropped their second studio album titled Loudmouth. An album charging forwards with the utmost grit, determination and hard hitting sentiment, this album is an outright political statement that demands to be heard.

Whilst their early works, including single Violet, shimmer with an indie hue, delving deep beyond the sound’s surface to VIAL’s lyrical content is paramount, and the most important aspect to this band’s material. On the album, tracks such as the audacious Mr Fuck You or the bombastic Planet Drool make it evident that VIAL have turned up their amounts of social commentary tenfold.

Along the 12-track album, Loudmouth features tracks like Vodka Lemonade, with a reworked version making the album’s cut. The song takes the subject of social anxieties and networking awkwardness from the perspective of a new band bursting onto the scene and having to deal with the very public duties that come with being in a band, a subject matter all too many people can relate to.

Sonically, Loudmouth has its stunningly contrasting moments. Whether it be the raucous and loud attitude of opener Ego Death, or the chilled out vibes of transcendent track Thumb, VIAL‘s new body of work is both lyrically important, and has the sonics to showcase this band’s punk driven versatility over the 12 tracks.

An album that takes a likeable sarcastic tone, emphasised by producer Henry Stoehr, the bands rightful frustration towards the world in which we live in and their noisey punk drive that makes both the sound and the lyrics demanding of your attention. VIAL’s Loudmouth is a march and a protest in the form of a full-length, one which we should all be backing and joining in with.

Rating: 7/10

Loudmouth is out now via Hassle Records/Get Better Records.

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