Vladimir are natives of Dundee, Scotland - a city that unsuccessfully bided
for the UK Culture City of 2017, along with my home city Leicester. We sighed
together in misery as the UK redevelopment panel picked Hull as the city most
in need of tourism and a cash injection; or as the sore loser from the Swansea
Bay area said: "People who live in Hull had to have something to
look forward to," but he's absolutely right. Dundee is rich in
culture, but small in size with just 156,561 - ish inhabitants, though it's
still one of the largest cities in Scotland - and we know how rich Scotland’s
musical heritage is don't we. Vladimir follows in the footsteps of some
delicate Scottish artists which have been and gone. First, there’s the
influence of The Jesus & Mary Chain, then the feel and vibe of the Cocteau
Twins. The Dundee quartet also take a piece from Scotland’s modernists like The
Twilight Sad and Franz Ferdinand, but it’s all too easy to say 'this Scottish
band influenced this Scottish band' - the real influence here is The Cure / Joy
Division / Siouxsie Sioux and the Gothics of 80s goth rock.
"Come Over" is the latest ethereal single self-released by
Vladimir on their bandcamp, for free. So click on that download link above and
get it while you can. Vladimir sound like their recent tour buddies The
Twilight Sad, but vocalist Ross Murray doesn’t have the thick Scottish twang
fans of The Twilight Sad, Frightened Rabbit, and Glasvegas crave for. This
allows Vladimir to venture in to a less generalised audience in Britain without
the denotation on them being Scottish. Without reading this, you probably wouldn’t
have guessed this four piece hail from Scotland.
Vladimir are like The Cure if
they didn’t sing about love. There are dark tones in Peter Mackenzie's electric
guitar, much like the post-punk sounds of Beach Fossils. Together, the quartet
form a unity where the space rock percussion and layers of guitar mash to
create a sinister atmosphere, or as Vladimir describe on their Facebook -
bleak. They played the fantastic Tramlines festival in Sheffield last year, and
have already toured with The Pigeon Detectives, The Twilight Sad, The View, and
Catfish and the Bottlemen. But Vladimir are much more than just a support act,
as heard with this single. Stay tuned in to Vladimir for what’s expected to be
an important 2014 for the Dundee quartet.
~Eddie Gibson
