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Album Review

Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! Volcano, I’m Still Excited!!
Polyvinyl Recording Co

Article written by Ged M
Jul 18, 2004.

When Mark Duplass was diagnosed with severe tendonitis and told he’d never play guitar again, the keyboard was the only instrument that didn’t cause him pain. The resultant keyboard-heavy sound, together with his high reedy voice, gives this album an 80s feel reminiscent of Elvis Costello and the Cars while, on a more contemporary note, there are several echoes of labelmates and fellow keyboards fanatics Mates of State.

The first thing that strikes you is the band’s name (and album title). Apparently named for Tom Hanks’ crash’n’burn movie ‘Joe Versus the Volcano’, Volcano, I’m Still Excited!! (note double exclamation marks) is the sort of thing that gets an album thrown instantly into the trash compactor. And while it’s a bit of a curate’s egg, it certainly doesn’t deserve that fate. Change your name, boys!

The album’s quirky pop tones are a little wearing over 16 tracks. It’s never bad but it’s often rather samey. The glorious ‘Joe Jaxon’, with its opening line “we were having fun” sung in the most unenthusiastic way, is full of pulsating pop sounds and stellar harmonies while ‘Mostly On An Island’ has a lovely melody that circles around itself in the most hypnotic way. Alas, the rest of the album doesn’t have many more standouts; there are a few interesting inserts that break up the flow with synth twiddling (‘Firebombing London’) and orchestral arrangements (‘Byron’s 24th Christmas’) but generally it’s a little monochrome for a polychromatic world. This is all too unconvincing.

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