Sound: Sprawling, blues-riffing drug music that incorporates the psychedelic guitar noodling of Jimi Hendrix and Jefferson Airplane, the grand strings and horns of Spiritualized and the stark simplicity of the Velvet Underground.
Vocals: A mix of ragged and raspy, crude and blasé. At times Josh Gerner’s delivery and intonation feels directly inspired by Bob Dylan, and occasionally he channels Lou Reed.
Heavy Rotation tracks: “Step On Inside”; “Priest, Poet & The Pig”; “Mr. Goldfinger”
Medium Rotation tracks: “Summer In the City”; “Gabe”
Explicit Lyrics*: “Too Tired” is the only song with an FCC-fineable word, but there are drug and some sex references throughout that may be objectionable for some audiences.
Recommended: If you want to jump back to a time where the drugs were everywhere, the vibe was communal and the guitars were free to roam all over the music. Vietnam isn’t just a throwback, though, it feels fresh and inspired enough for modern times.
Grade: B+

Hear Vietnam in rotation on 3wk.com

Listen to Tracks/Buy Music:
On iTunes
On barnesandnoble.com

* Noting of explicit lyrics is for the benefit of radio music directors or anyone else that needs/wants to keep their music FCC-friendly.