Reviewed by Andrew Privett

Violet Burning's fourth outing, 'Demonstrates Plastic And Elastic' is a vast melting pot of influences whilst keeping an integrity and consistency. I detected influences as diverse as Marc Bolan (complete with feather boa) through to Garbage, whilst sensing flirtations with U2, Cure (even the lipstick) and The Choir. On the track "Moon Radio" it appears Violet Burning sampled Bev Bevan's drum track from the ELO song "Don't Bring Me Down". Not a drummer regularly lifted, for the same reason as Ringo Starr, I suppose! The Long Beach, California four-piece band enjoy a somewhat ardent following. They tour almost continually, both nationally (US) and internationally, and have gone over well on MTV Europe and their video of "The Sun And The Sky" is regularly on the playlist. They have also had five of their songs played on MTV in the US. This is an extremely enjoyable album with a feeling of raw emotion as well as the sense of subtlety and depth, with well crafted, original songs. "Oceana", "We Close Our Eyes" and "Seamonster" are among my favourite songs, but I'll happily listen to the others with no forwarding, again and again. I highly recommend this album!

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.