The Secret Vampire Soundtrack - Bis

The Secret Vampire Soundtrack may be a simple four-song EP, but in its grooves the listener can find all the keys to Bis' bouncy new wave, riot grrrl disco sound. Better still, you can hear the development of the infectious style that Manda Rin, John Disco, and Sci-Fi Steven would perfect on such LPs as New Transistor Heroes and Intendo. At the time of its release, Bis were a much-buzzed-about indie band (the first indie band, in fact, to ever appear on Top of the Pops), and Chemikal Underground was lucky enough to have gotten this EP out just before the real "Teen-C Revolution" (as Bis would have it), took off. The tracks embody Bis' oft-professed affinity for childish simplicity-as-anti-indie statement, kind of a Brit-pop version of would-be American counterparts and DIY spiritual leaders Beat Happening. And, up to this point, this was their most coherent contribution to the international pop underground that made Beat Happening and K Records famous. However, something is lost in the translation. Yes, the girl-voiced, synthesized bounciness of the cuts "Kandy Pop," "Teen-C Power!," "Diska," and "Secret Vampires" boasts a good deal of enthusiasm and momentum. What it lacks -- or what it tries too hard to do -- is sound unforced. The lyrics -- which on Bis' later albums are a striking balance between anthemic, self-aware and childishly unpretentious -- have the forced tone of, well, adolescent poetry. In the context of the mid- to late-'90s, DIY revolution, though, Secret Vampire Soundtrack was spot on; exactly the kind of weird, wild innocent, sexless, fun counterpoint Brit-pop needed to balance the yobs in Oasis and Blur and the decadence of Pulp. A catchy document of a work in progress. ~ Chris Handyside, All Music Guide