Voxhaul Broadcast: Timing Is Everything

You can play a game with the debut full-length from the Los Angeles-area group Voxhaul Broadcast called Where Did They Crib That Idea From? “Blackout” generates the general vibe of a sped-up version of the Morning Benders’ “Promises”, and when singer David Dennis sings on “Steal the Diamonds” that “You steal the diamonds from the sky”, you have to wonder if he advocates taking them from Lucy. There are times, too, that the band recalls the gritty psychedelic swagger of Black Mountain, particularly on “Loose Change”. Voxhaul Broadcast is still struggling to find its signature sound, and the results here are middling at best. The songwriting is workmanlike and the band wears its influences on its sleeve, though there is a hint of a blend between SoCal surf rock and the blues that will be particularly intoxicating with a bit of refinement. Overall though, wading through Timing Is Everything is a bit of a chore, as the album doesn’t know when to quit when it’s ahead. I was listening to this on my iPod without realizing how many songs deep I was, and I found myself thinking, at “Sleepless Dreamer” (song nine), “Hey, this is a great album ender”. Then “No Better Reason” came up and I wound up thinking the exact same thing. And then “Drysand” cycled up in the mix and it was at that point that I actually checked the tracklist and realized I was only 11 cuts into an album gill-packed with 13 songs. If anything, Timing Is Everything could use a better sequencing job, with an eye to climaxing at the appropriate moment. It isn’t a bad album, per se, but it certainly isn’t memorable — its length and “let’s throw in everything, as well as the kitchen sink” approach kills any momentum generated by indie pop gems like “Leaving on the 5th”. You have heard all of this, more or less, with a greater urgency and panache elsewhere.