It's finally time for everyone to hear the eclectic mix of prog/alt rock/punk that the Hero & the Victor are capable of churning out, instead of just those lucky folks in the Santa Barbara, California area. Around a year and a half ago The Hero & the Victor (THATV) released an EP entitled Snapshots from a Warehouse that was known only to a select few in their hometown. However, it caught the attention of several online sites that gave it high praise. Now, in The Villainy of the Ordinary, THATV's first full-length album, not much has changed except audience access. They've taken a slightly different turn musically, but a turn for the better in my humble opinion.While songs on the EP were exceptionally long and focused more on the instrumentals, Villainy has a brighter spotlight on the vocal/guitar interplay and less on the lengthy, droned-out and drawn out epics on Warehouse. Tracks are more simple and to-the-point and a tad more relaxed than before, which I really love about Villainy.
THATV usually go multiple different places inside their songs, zipping you through screaming, brutal vocals one minute and quieting down to an acoustic little romp through melodyville the next. This often superfluous yet appealing mix of rifts set a bizarre and uncanny atmosphere that make listening to this album a different experience almost every time.
While some prog-rock bands sometimes tend to lose everything good musically from album to album in exchange for things completely different, THATV manage to keep what was good with their EP and add even more great elements to the bag 'o tricks, giving audiences a very enjoyable listening experience.
