V.Majestic

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Including new release Study the Illusion
Study the Illusion
V.Majestic
Dynamic Alloy
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Study the Illusion
Dynamic Alloy
V.Majestic
Back in the shadowy days of '73, prior to the arrival of short hair and funny pants, the mighty men of V.Majestic raised figurative lanterns in the tree-lined suburbs, looking for honest, exciting and vital sounds in those subdued surroundings. They checked out Sparks and Can and Alice Cooper and Captain Beefheart. Everybody thought they were the strangest fucking cats and all the guys at the hip record store knew them by name. But then, after years of toiling in obscurity, Punk Rock managed to jump out of the bushes and suddenly there was a whole new bunch of "weird music" to check out. The guys in V. Majestic ate it all up. Some dug the poppier stuff like the Buzzcocks and The Undertones. Others found Pere Ubu quite capable of raising the roof. One embraced The Contortions and Devo like long-lost brothers and sisters. Then strangely enough, in a maneouver rarely attempted by punk rock fans, they asked, "I wonder what Great Music these Great Punk Rock Bands listened to before there was Punk Rock?" So they went and unearthed the Soft Machine, Faust and NEU! Tim Buckley and Moby Grape got the twice-over (at least). There were enquiries concerning the Seeds, the Gants and the Thirteenth Floor Elevators, As could be expected, the Stooges and the MC5 and the Velvet Underground and the Fugs were present and accounted for. V. Majestic said, "Wow - this is great too." What the hell - they were on a roll. They took on John Barry, Yma Sumac and Pigmeat Markham - all at once. They lent an ear to field recordings of Hutus hurling insults at other Hutus in a bizarre wedding ritual. They grooved to Great Naval Battles and The Firesign Theater. And soon all the Punk Rockers thought they were the strangest fucking cats and all the guys at the store that sold 78s knew them by name. Knowing that, one should realise that V. Majestic are a weird damned band. They're not a rock band. They're not a roll band. They're not a jazz band... they're a damned good weird damned band.... and they know Burt Bacharach is a genius. *from the press-release for the album 'V. Majestic' on Edgy Records. Written by Guy Benoit, 1997
REVIEWS
Dynamic Alloy
"Providence smiled on these Rhode Island sonic scholars when Terrastocked them. Hodge podge psychodelic psyrup poured over rudimentary repetoriffs. A disarming sloppy charm, and some fine kitchen-sink thinking. I applaud them shoe-horning a french-horn/trumpet into the mix. Our Heroux’s exploits add a mocking muted horn to an odd German sitcom/porno/both?? on “Her Five Sisters” Excellent bristling guitar beneath (voice-sped?) she-monkey scat on “Sub Zero One.” Vocals are often hidden by phones, fuzz and general fuckery. Other electro-twisto-tones fused in too. Rough-hewn jam music for toasted minds."---- 10-1-05 Thurston Hunger KFJC On-Line Reviews
Dynamic Alloy
"Now here's an album and a group that totally defies categorization - The Dynamic Alloy EP from Rhode Island's finest - VMajestic. These guys are probably Faust's nephews who emigrated to the States to make their fortune! It would only be fair to point out, that unlike Faust's somewhat more out-there moments, VMajestic tend to keep their musical feet firmly on the ground (mostly) throughout 45 minutes of splendid psychedelic chaos with just the right balance of lengthy solos, musical humour and kitsch. Indeed I'm informed by Robert Jazz, that Dynamic Alloy is part of "a lifecycle according to The v. Dynamic Alloy disc takes up in the grave where the first (album) left off. It is also somewhat more creepy, Victorian horror and sci fi influenced. The songs are as obtuse and ambiguous as the first. Hints or allusions to the following: "Sin, fire, communication from the otherside - all that happy stuff." The title track starts of with a rather sexy little mini Moog sounding sequencer over which we have what I can only assume is a French Horn motif replacing the ubiquitous guitar sound, a guitar and French Horn trade licks until the main riff returns for a thundering reprise! "Billion Dollar Express: train-ride into the great beyond." Prepare yourself for a futuristic, techno samba, not a million miles away from Faust, with some Fripp-like guitar, and heavily disguised mock operatic yodelling. "Mr. Motion: the voodoo doctor of getting it together." Or… a dubbed up trombone over a Neu! powered beat. "Steps to Avoid Halos and Shadows: a roadmap to heaven and hell perhaps?" Imagine the if the Cosmic Jokers had been mixed by Bill Laswell - space rock dub! "Her Five Sisters: as in who are you going out with tonight? Mary Palm and her five sisters?" A mini-masterpiece in its own right! Voices, possibly sampled from a rather jovial pre-war German comedy, with VMajestic supplying music which wouldn't be out of place in a demented, decadent, 1930's cabaret! Sub Zero One features more cut and paste lunacy, sampled led speed up voices scat a nonsense nursery rhyme like a chipmunk hailing in the apocalypse. Oh mustn't forget the sound collage of guitars and electronics! "Remove Yourself deals with séance, a medium and the ability to walk through walls as a ghostly presence." A thumping trance-inducing conclusion - stabs of Hammond, more French Horn mayhem and tribal drumming, as the lads bang it out in a manner suitable for any fan of anarchic prog rock. "Red Ribbon: this suggests illness and the death of a beloved." A psychedelic lullaby to rock you to sleep, if you dare close your eyes! Totally unfettered by convention, these guys are playing for themselves and having the time of their lives; you feel exuberance flowing out of every note, infectious fun!"---- krautrocknet.com
Dynamic Alloy and Light the Fuse
"This is some weird freaked out shit. I love it. The remind me of a laid back surreal Gooding. Synthesizers, French Horns, trumpet, drums and bass get into an experimental groove. Most of the tunes are instrumental. On the tunes that do have vocals, they end up sounding like samples. It’s a modern day electronica jazzy fuzz jam and I like it."---- Mite Mutant (2001) The Chickenfish Speaks
For Educational Use Only
"This is a wonderful instrumental CD fueled by synth and horns, with a nice underlying of guitar and bass and driving drums. Track two is just phenomenal, and reminds me a bit of legendary local band, Tooba Blooze. My only complaint with this release is that while the pentagon packaging of this CD is cool in it’s uniqueness, it really isn’t practical."---- Mike Mutant (2001) The Chickenfish Speaks
V.Majestic (eponymous debut)
"Providence greenhorns V. Majestic have musical tastes as exotic as they are vast: chilly krautrock burps, kaleidoscopic acid-guitar solos, jazz-infected freakouts, and glimmers of exotica and eerie pop textures are all part of the group's Beefheartian mix. More than eclecticism, it's the enthusiasm with which guitarist Robert Jazz and his cohort throw themselves into these various styles that makes their mostly instrumental V. Majestic debut so appealing. On the opening "I Was Kicked in the Horse by a Head When I Was Three," the quintet plunge into a smooth brass solo and brazen guitar bit with equal élan. On "Freudis Sexualis" they likewise jump from horn to guitar, then conjure even greater gusto as the number skids toward chaotic electronic squealing. These noisy peaks dotting the soundscape give you a cathartic tingle like those you might get from Sonic Youth or Yo La Tengo. But the album's real highlight is "Open Casket (for Tiny)," where the band add otherworldly, emotionally detached vocals to a mix of prominently placed vibes, thunderous percussion, and ominous horns, an amalgamation that brings to mind the quaint pop mastered by Brian Eno in his solo career's first phase. Eccentric yet playful, creepy yet comforting, the number is the ideal sendoff to this whimsical left-field gem."---- 8-24-98 Jay Ruttenberg The Boston Phoenix