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Despite likability, Virginwool has yet to make mainstream

September 27, 2000

Virginwool

Open Heart Surgery

(Breaking Records)

Virginwool is a peculiar name for a band. Perhaps the off-center moniker explains why the group isn’t a radio fixture.

It is hard to imagine hearing on the radio, “Next up on our faceless alt-rock station we’ve got Kid Rock, again, Limp Bizkit, again, Matchbox 20, for the 50th time, and VIRGINWOOL!”

The members of Virginwool may have been teased at their alt-rock high school, causing them to pour their sorrows into their melancholy sound.

That said, these fellows have the same durable, catchy, low-fidelity sound as many modern rock successes, although they bite from Pearl Jam significantly less than most.

The difference is that the members of Virginwool execute the sound much better than 99 percent of their colleagues. Also, despite touring with Hootie and the Blowfish, Virginwool is a grown-up-sounding band with songwriting talents, especially in the instrumental department, going above and beyond Hootie.

Another obstacle to Virginwool’s mainstream success is its slow meandering tunes, with lyrics that take the nontraditional step of making sense. After the anything-that-rhymes lyrical styles of Bush and Eve 6, songs such as “You’re the Girl,” about a girl, and “Lonely Man,” about a guy without a lot of friends, seem refreshing.

As tired and boring as it has become, the modern rock style still has life in it, as Travis has proved. Virginwool seeks and finds nothing new but manages to perform with enough craft and conviction that its sound comes off as something different, and therefore good.

The band, on the soft side of modern rock, uses its elements well, from the soft techno that hums in the background of “Nevermind Her Hips” to the hip-hoppish organ in the background of “I Think Her Mother Loves Me” to an unexpected harmonica solo on “Climbing Boulders.”

It’s the same jangly guitars, moody melodies and tight rhythms we’ve heard before - for better or worse.

Virginwool also stays out of the trap many pop bands fall into by layering tunes with so many pianos, organs and strings that they lose their effectiveness. The group members aren’t minimalists, but they seem to believe one melody will suffice, while other bands, such as the Wallflowers, would want three or four.

Singer Jordan Pouzzner has a likable voice, and the lyrics don’t have a trace of meanness. Like Travis - the Scottish masters of this style - the members of Virginwool come off as nice, sensitive fellows you’d like your sister to date.

It’s important, however, that they come off as nice, sensitive fellows who write good, catchy songs.

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