the new Vir lp - Engineers

Available, May 28th

Tracklist

Joy in Space

Engineers

I'd rather go Intact

New Loop

Mojave

Burn the House Down

H.264

2 Chord

Based in Oakland,
CA, the band sounds like My Bloody Valentine colliding with Doves, yet it also has roots in Christchurch New Zealand, giving the band an affinity with many Kiwi post-punk trios such as the Gordons, Bailter Space and HDU.

"Engineers" shows a sophisticated, dynamically strong band that's not afraid to evolve or go to dark places. With swooping guitar riffs, psychedelic noise, inventive bass lines and brilliantly-processed vocals from Sam Sloane (Vox, Guitar), Vir's music weaves a hypnotic magic in the shoegaze tradition, yet remains more experimental, avant garde and ominous than many of their counterparts. Intoxicating and sufficiently spaced out, Vir's sound is also well crafted, precise and masterful in its reverb-drenched sonic effects
and methodical atmospheric layering.

Opening track (and first single) "Joy in Space" and title track "Engineers" kick off the album with a one-two punch. Other standout tracks include "Burn the House Down" which vacillates between gorgeous plucked
melodies to waves of darkness and distortion and "H.264", with its melancholy trumpet intro that slowly devolves into a Velvet Underground-style tribal dirge. The album closes gracefully, with an elegiac beauty, "2
Chord", reminiscent of those softer, prettier shoegaze Gods of yore like Slowdive, with dreamy gorgeous reverb and delicate vocals.

Having already amassed a quickly growing Bay Area fan base, "Engineers" could be the album that shoots the band into the stratosphere, where their music has already been residing.

Release Date:July 20, 2010

Label:Vibraphone

Length:40:45

Synopsis: Recorded at Sharkbite studios in Oakland, Ca during 2009. The record contends with a search for heritage and sense of place amongst an urban environment of absence. The songs were written whilst traveling through New Zealand's South Island before returning to the U.S to record.

Release Date: June 17th 2008

Label: VIR

Length: 48:18

Synopsis: Vir’s debut lp "Shadow of a Mountain" blends elements of post-punk and shoegaze to create a glacial, dark and elegant record.  With the band now based in the SF bay area but with roots in Christchurch, New Zealand, the album contends with a longing for home and a sense of loss despite the idealistic urge for challenge and experience abroad. Drawn to the contradictions and contrasts in the U.S the album contends with a futile attempt and defiant struggle to challenge an insurmountable mountain, as a result, Vir produce an album evocative of the American Landscape.