In 2012, notoriously volatile Canadian indie-rockers Women were torn apart once-and-for-all after the death of guitarist Chris Reimer. Nearly three years on, it might be a little silly to think that Viet Cong, the new band from Women vocalist/bassist Matt Flegel and drummer Mike Wallace, who are joined by guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen, is a reaction to Reimer's death, but, then again, the final track on their debut album is an 11-minute suite called "Death." One thing to be certain of is that Viet Cong is one of the most intriguing and original records in the so-called "post-punk revival" since the triumphant debut of Interpol.
If you listen to alternative radio, chances are you heard "Continental Shelf," the album's incredible lead single, at some point last year. It's also fairly likely that you found yourself humming along to its earworm guitar riff or nodding your head to its swaying beat, which was cribbed straight from The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (or The Jesus and Mary Chain's "Just Like Heaven," depending on your frame of reference). "Continental Shelf" is a perfect pop song in the guise of a slice of angular and noisy post-punk, and while Viet Cong is extremely varied over its 38 minutes, the lead single is a perfect example of the album's strength.
While the record doesn't deviate that much from the post-punk formula - even the band's name is reminiscent of the Third Reich-referencing Joy Division - there are slight doses of ambient music, noise, electronic elements, psychedelia and even funk injected into the mix. The record's incredible juxtapositions of beautiful and ugly, light and dark, soft and hard comes immediately to the fore on the enigmatic "Newspaper Spoons," where war drums fuzzily burst forward like they're struggling through the shittiest laptop speakers imaginable. The track's chant is slowly overtaken by a gentle insistent, ebbing organ that softens all the hard edges of the drums and droning guitar and makes something beguiling and even beautiful.
Even the most explicitly "punk" track here, the breakneck "Silhouettes," is tempered by a piano plinking away in the background on the bridge. It is to the credit of the album's production that while things are fuzzy and overdriven, there is no detail lost. The lurching, crippled bass line on "Pointless Experience," the hard, electronic edge of the synth drums on "March of Progress" and the snake-like bass weaving its way through the chiming guitar arpeggios that open "Death" are all heard loud and clear and contribute immensely to the texture of the songs. Rather than just create a wall of sound, the band have made something nuanced and intriguing.
Viet Cong may only contain seven songs, but it feels hefty. The lyrics are ambiguous, but their imagery hits hard, especially when launched by Matt Flegel's strangled bark, which is a highly expressive instrument. Lyrics like "Stuttering convalescent hands / Obvious in what they desire" may not seem like much on paper, but uttered by Flegel, who draws out the 's' sound on 'convalescent' into a menacing hiss, they take on a whole new life. Flegel and the band lend urgency to lyrics that are poetic and often shatteringly beautiful, but somewhat enigmatic and oblique.
Viet Cong is a solid listen from beginning to end, and full of enough inventiveness and detail to have you returning to it again and again. Maybe it's a little too early to call it, but this could be one of the best indie rock records of the year, fulfilling all the promise that was shown by Women before their implosion and then some. Viet Cong have created something that feels vital, without it feeling overblown or self-important. Like the best rock music, the only thing it asks of you is to get lost inside of it.
