New Music From Vakili Band

Bruce Von Stiers

The music of Vakili Band has been said to evoke thoughts of Patti Smith and possibly Joan Jett. But I'm not sure that either of those are accurate, even though the band used both artists as influences. The band has a rock sound that is an eclectic mix of hard rock and almost Bob Dylan styled, moody songs.

Vakili Band has just released a new album. The title of the album is Walking Sideways. The album is being self-released. It was produced and recorded by David Amlen.

Walking Sideways is the band's first album since their 2018 release, Oh, Alright.

Lily Vakili is the front person for the band. She does the lead vocals and plays guitar. Ben St. Jack is on electric guitar. Matt Jovanis and Jim Tyndall share the duties on bass. Gordon Kuba handles the drums and percussion. Joel Dorow plays harmonica and David Amlen plays the keys and acoustic guitar.

There is a horn section for the album that is made up of Alexandre Desriviers, Scott Pebbles and Peter Lin.

Backing vocals are done by Joel Dorow, Cecile Williams, Gordon Kuba, Ben St. Jack and Jim Tyndall.

The title track, Walking Sideways, is first up on the album. It has an almost Ramones intro. Then things move into a more sedate mood. Lily's vocals are fluid and sometimes have a bit of a twang.

Sharp Devil is the second song on the album. It is a toe-tapper with some cool harmonica music.

I got a Mealoaf kind of vibe from the song, We Got Dreams.

Freeman has a cool drum solo and a toe tapping bit at the end with some slick guitar.

Rachel has a fast-paced head bopping beat. It has slick harmonica and great guitar.

She Wants What is a kind of in-your-face piece about women only asking what they are deserved.

When 21 is a lighter, mellower song. The lyrics were inspired by Lily's autistic son.

Facial Recognition Technology is an interesting song. It is about all of the things that are going on in the world. And that the only thing that makes sense is loving the person that was being talked to,

Dreamer Dreamer is softer and has some nice harmonies.

The album ends with Father's Son. It has some super cool rock guitar and slick harmonica.

Lily has stated that the title of the album, and the title track, reflect her path in life. That is, she's “rarely taken the direct route” in her life. The songs on the album seem to fold into that reflection. The lyrics are interesting, and some are thought provoking. And the music behind the lyrics is well done.

To learn more about Walking Sideways, visit the Vakili Band website at www.vakiliband.com .

Back to the BVS Reviews Main Menu

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

© 2022 Bruce E Von Stiers