Melodic Reviews Viv's Sophmore release:

by Kaj Roth
Melodic, July 9th, 2004

Viv is a band led by singer/songwriter Matt Ostrander that was formed in 2001 and released the debut the same year,together with Steve Bowman-Drums/Justus Dobrin-Keys/Mike Fiorentino-Violin,mandolin,guitar and Erik Semo-Bass they have recorded a fresh and warm sophomore album in "Flawed".

All fans of The Wallflowers,Counting Crows and Rembrandts should look this way coz Viv plays rootsy and mature powerpop which feels ultra melodic.

Matt has a tender and almost fragile voice that in some moments sounds a bit like Bob Dylan but only a little,as a matter of fact they have a song called "Bob Dylan" on this new album,however that song doesn't sound so much like a Dylan tune-it's more of a britpop song in the same vein as Coldplay,Travis and even some Radiohead.

The opening track "Friends" is the highlight of the album with unforgettable melodies both in the verses and the chorus,imagine Wallflowers playing a Blue Oyster Cult tune and you've got "Friends"......sounds weird?!....well it aint.
The rootsy and midwest sounding title track "Flawed" has some major romantic vibes to it,the chorus is made for a long ride in your car....you can play it over and over again.

The last songs on this 9 track album are more acoustic based and drags the tempo down a bit but all in all,it's a record you can't live without.

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