Soon to be FKA, Viet Cong playing Treasure Island Music Fest early Sunday
When Viet Cong issued a statement last month that they’d be changing their name, the decision didn’t exactly come as a surprise. From the onset, the Calgary-based quartet conceded that the name had no personal connection to any of the band members, and, in actuality, the moniker was chosen on a whim and with little knowledge of the painful associations related to the North Vietnamese guerilla group. The controversy has dogged the group nearly since its existence, which is a shame since the post-punk outfit have produced two of the most exciting albums in indie rock in recent years — [...]
Viet Cong stumbles at Rickshaw Stop
Fresh off a major hype boost from Pitchfork's 8.5 Best New Music rating in January for their eponymous debut LP, Viet Cong made their first stop in San Francisco last Thursday night for a sold out performance at Rickshaw Stop. Despite having everything going for them, the band couldn't hold it together. From the first note — or lack thereof, as lead singer Matt Flegel rambled for almost 10 minutes before the band played a note on Thursday — the foursome were out-of-sync and sloppy. Flegel looked seriously drunk and his stage banter was foolish, a combination of audience polls and a lame "this [...]
Viet Cong releases new album ahead of SF debut at Rickshaw Stop
(Photo by Colin Way) A band that chooses a name like Viet Cong clearly never intends to evoke an undermining sense of joy—rather, the Calgary quartet embodies rigidity and bleakness through a post-punk aggressiveness in their compositions. Their genre exists in an existentialist space, but their lyrics have a lighter side, at least to lead singer Matt Flegel. "I have a bleak sense of humor, too," he says. "So some lyrics might seem funny to me even though anyone else might think they're desperately hopeless." Humorous or not, they're delivered with ennui, which is a front for the real emotion of the album. Viet [...]