– Bring On The Comets

Not limited to the dance hall.

	August 3, 2007

Coming at you at the speed of the mighty synthesizer is VHS or Beta’s newest album, “Bring on the Comets.” If you’re not familiar with the band’s mix of dance–punk, just think of Duran Duran without the fancy hair and a little more funk. Tracks like “Take It Or Leave It” are straight from the time when bands were embracing the electronica sound. But it’s not a bad thing! Well, the band does have a much more pop sounding layer on this album as opposed to previous ones, but this band pulls it off to the point where it isn’t too campy, but more like a homage to the old and a bold look to the future of dance and indie music.

Lead singer Craig Pfunder has a passion in his voice that sends shivers down the collective spines of anyone in earshot and keyboardist Chea Beckley must have many fingers to pull off some of the things he does on the keys. VHS or Beta have developed a foreboding emotion on tracks like “The Stars Where We Came From” and “Burn It All Down.” Lyrics like “burn the flags, burn the houses, burn the churches, burn it all down” tell a tale of conflict and some type of message. But they are also dancing on the pop rock genre with short, easy–to­–digest tracks. The newest album is definitely a departure from the band’s previous albums, but again, this isn’t a bad thing. Some people may say that the sound is too much of a change, but they’re the type of people who want to limit.

By Nathan Solis

Listen to the album at Amazon.com