Something I have only recently found out about myself is that I’m a pretty big fan of electronic music. I was raised on a steady diet of rock, reggae, and metal; there just wasn’t room enough for club beats between the Slightly Stoopid and the Rob Zombie. But one fateful day last August, I was up on 62nd Street, bumming around the record shops when I came across an EMF album on cassette. I had never heard of the band, but I thought the album's title, ‘Schubert Dip,’ sounded silly, so I bought it. I have since nearly worn that tape out from having listened to it so many times. EMF made me fall in love with the genre and has become my baseline for what I consider to be good electronic music. Vienna Vienna’s new single, “Idle Hands,” is one of the only songs I’ve heard since my discovery of EMF that blows that baseline out of the water.
Vienna Vienna is a self-described glimmer rock artist. The music is a blend of late 80s/early 90s electronic and 2010s indie rock. What I find particularly impressive about this combination is that Vienna Vienna has created two instrumentals that work entirely independently of each other. You have a tight, indie four-piece instrumental, with bass, drums, guitar, and vocals inspired by the chart toppers of 2016. Then you also have an incredible electronic beat replete with stomps, claps, and a buffet of synths. You could isolate either of these instrumentals and have a killer song. Usually, when artists blend genres, one seems to be lost within the other, but Vienna Vienna has combined these two into a new kind of music that shows off both genres' strong suits.
‘Idle Hands’ is a thumping piece of craftsmanship that begs to be played at an absurdly high volume. It’s the kind of thing I would expect to hear on the smoky dance floor of the dive bars in downtown Indy. Something that can shake the floor and rattle the walls, alerting everyone within earshot that it’s time to listen up and get down.
Vienna Vienna has created a stunning marriage of indie rock and electronic that is far beyond the standards of its contemporaries. ‘Idle Hands’ isn’t just a beat and some beeps; it's a piece of art that could pack a club, but at the same time is worthy of being taken in in a quiet space where you can focus on listening to the fine details of the tune. It’s something not just to be enjoyed but to be appreciated, like fine wine and sticky bud.
You can find ‘Idle Hands’ streaming now wherever you get your music. I recommend using headphones for your first listen through; that way you can really hear the full scope of the song. After that, you’ll want to play it at max volume in a car full of your most irresponsible friends on the way to some dingy club you shouldn’t be hanging around in. Once you’re hooked, you’re going to want to keep a close eye on Vienna Vienna’s socials for coming tour dates and more new music.
