The Virgins – ‘Impressions of You’
Today’s Track of the Day is a rare one—so strong that even without a single word, it would still deserve the Far Out nod.
Some might remember Donald Cumming, the New York native who fronted The Virgins, a band that shot out of the blocks back in 2008 with a sound that stitched together 21st-century indie and the wiry cool of Talking Heads. Cumming’s vocal style landed somewhere between a downtown sneer and the off-kilter charm of Jonathan Richman from The Modern Lovers, served straight up to a generation that didn’t know it needed it.
Well, after a lot of messing around (painful tours, new band members, getting married and tumultuous record label relations), The Virgins are back, signed to none other than Julian Casablancas’ Cult Records, and their track ‘Impressions of You’ proves that despite getting their hands a little dirty in the process, they certainly haven’t been deflowered.
Taken from the new album release Strike Gently, a colourful collection of tunes that boast all the qualities of past Virgins efforts entwined with newer, rock influenced guitar licks and vocal (Mark Knopfler and his Dire Straits spring to mind), ‘Impressions of You’ embodies the sentiment that life has dished out to Cummings and his troupe on their journey so far.
Even without the vocals, this track would’ve been a no-brainer for Track of the Day, riding a rhythm and beat that channels the good-time magic Bowie bottled on Sound and Vision. There’s a heavy trace of Bowie’s fingerprints all over it—from the vocal phrasing to the loose-limbed horn sections—but that’s not a knock. If anything, it’s a reason to dive headfirst into what The Virgins are pulling off here.
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