DIRTY VELVET – Far Beyond the Moon

The Swiss alternative rock act Dirty Velvet was formed roughly four years ago and have been gigging quite a bit on their home turf since then, but their debut offering will soon see the light of day via Fastball Music, so let us take a closer look at that output, shall we?

The cool thing about this outfit is that the quartet throws a whole bunch of elements that one would normally associate with punk rock and heavy metal into their raw and unfiltered brand of alternative rock, but despite a few good ideas and some solid riffs here and there, the song material is let down by the horrendous vocals that fail to complement or enhance the instrumental tracks. ‘Queen of Decadence’, ‘Fight Together’, and closing piece ‘I’m Standing’ have their moments, but again, the vocals seem so far removed from the actual music that it quickly turns into a huge source of frustration and disappointment. The production suits the vibe and feel of the music nicely, but nothing changes the fact that the record is a letdown and unremarkable. You can skip this one, folks.