An Inviting New Record from The Victim

A new release from The Victim manages to pull together a lot of classic influence while bringing in a warm and welcoming pop rock approach. I feel like the classic rock influence comes from artists like Springsteen because the tracks have this sort of particular tonality to them in terms of the guitars, and the way the vocals are performed as well.

"This Town" is the main single of focus and does give such a story, told with some amazing detail, so that you can sort of paint a picture as it all unfolds. This is one of my favorite aspects, not just about this track but about the entire record that it comes from.

The song has a drive to it. It's got a great sort of bop to it that gets you moving while guitars flow over everything and sort of give you these melodic waves.

There's something about songs like this that puts you in the moment. They feel nostalgic when you listen to them, not just because of the music but really because of the way they're performed and because of the lyrics.

Some artists are amazing in terms of delivering lyrics that tell those kinds of stories that you connect with. When you connect with a story from a song, the whole song becomes the connection.

This is certainly the case with "This Town".

The song boasts such a great space beneath everything. It's sort of open and feels freeing, in a sense. This is another thing I really enjoyed about the track itself. Just the way it has a certain kind of spirit attached to it.

It's kind of like running into someone who's an old soul. The song is like an old soul.

Now, this single is part of a full album called homebound which is actually out on Bandcamp right now, and the record bursts into all kinds of other stuff, from more of a blues rock sound with songs like "Cornflower Blue", to warm and inviting Folk with others like "California".

The record gives you a very wide range, but it all tells stories, and again, with such description that you can't really turn away from them.

A lot of the songs form that same connection. They feel like talking to an old friend and catching up. It's a beautiful sensation, and, amazingly, this record can really create such a robust and thick atmosphere for you to join in on and feel welcome.

"Blame" is a great example of a track that gives you more depth into the persona behind the artist involved. There are definitely songs, like this one, that get pretty personal, while still telling a story just from a different perspective. I think that it's important to understand that the record does come from a series of real places and that the songs have a particular way of almost interconnecting with each other, almost like a concept album might.

Now, I don't think it is a concept album per se, but the songs do have that connection within each other, and it is the kind of record that you don't skip around.

Jumping into this record from beginning to end is definitely the best way to go here.

You get the full experience and can hear the actual spectrum of all the different places that it goes.

One of my favorite checks on the record is actually the last one called "When Love Goes Missing", because it covers a lot of the ground that the record holds close.

It starts clean, more folk-oriented, and then later on grows into a more rock feeling track, but still holds that folk undertone as it does so.

I feel like this is such a great way to close out the record because again, these are all stories that are told, and if you listen carefully, you get the full picture.

This was a gorgeous record with some amazing balance, loads of heart, and it is very character-driven.

I thoroughly enjoyed taking these songs in because it was almost like reading a good book.

The guitar work is really well placed in terms of creating memorable progressions, building into choruses, and giving you certain kinds of warmth in their tonality so that the mood of the songs comes through properly.

Definitely check this out because it's really worth your time, especially if you like songs and albums that are from a more personal perspective, and branch out into different directions.

Remember where you heard it first.

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