Virginia Coalition Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
From the opening bars of "Home This Year," which titles and kicks off Virginia Coalition's fifth album, it's clear the band has progressed into rich new musical pastures. With the track's insistent, yearning refrain of "Gotta get home this year," the group sets the stage for a set filled with reflective songs and introspective moods. Gone are the high-energy performances and exhilarating sounds that were the Coalition's signature and reached an apex on their preceding album, Live at the 9:30 Club, while their penchant for fusing genres is deliberately muted. Instead, the bandmembers throw the spotlight on their songwriting, notably tightening the structures, and giving prominence to ambience and emotion. Songs like the star-crossed "Not Scared," glittering with acoustic guitars and delicate keyboards, waft into singer/songwriter territory, while the more grandiose "Same Page" has all the makings of a power ballad classic. "Santa Fe" evokes the soft rock stylings of the '70s, and with Jarrett Nicolay's banjo gently twanging away, brings to mind the likes of Poco. On the upbeat "Stars Align," his cheery playing is counterpointed by keyboardist Paul Ottinger's best champagne styling, like an Appalachian dinner club. So, the Coalition haven't entirely deserted their flair for fusion. The quietly infectious "Lately," for instance, hints at orchestral grandeur, while folding in a tinge of '60s soul. The band's soul stylings are further illuminated on "Look My Way," juxtaposed against an adamant rhythm and billowing electric keyboards. The entire set is lit with a quiet optimism and a sparkling sound. With the uplifting "Sing Along" destined for single status, the even more anthemic "Same Page" and infectious "Home This Year" deserve to follow. The Coalition come home to their earliest roots, and one hopes they'll stay there forever. ~ Jo-Ann Greene, All Music Guide
'Live at the 9:30 Club'
Release Date 1/1/2006
Tracks 16
Label Bluhammock
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What The Critics Say
Washington, D.C.-based rock quartet Virginia Coalition comes out of a distinct musical tradition, even if it's one that has rarely been recognized as such. Rock critics of the '90s were so dazzled by the grunge scene in Seattle, WA, that they managed to ignore an equally vibrant, if somewhat more geographically diverse scene that had grown up along the Eastern Seaboard at the same time. These were bands influenced by the improvisational groups of an earlier generation, notably the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band, but which also mixed in healthy doses of frat rock and beach music, along with rhythms borrowed from the Caribbean and Central America. Maybe no critic was willing to put in the hundreds of miles on I-95 it would have taken to connect the dots because this scene stretched from South Carolina to Vermont, and it included Blues Traveler, Dispatch, Hootie & the Blowfish, Bruce Hornsby & the Range, Dave Matthews Band, Phish, and Spin Doctors, among others. Some of these bands made very successful records, but the movement was largely performance based, another reason why critics, who like to sit home with their CDs and don't get out much, missed the connections. The best they could do was to lump some of these acts in with other groups from around the country that sounded nothing like them under the umbrella term "jam bands." As usual, however, audiences didn't need reviews and trend articles to know what they liked, and the music flourished. Of course, it also spawned more bands, and Virginia Coalition is prominent among the next wave of them. Naturally, a two-CD live album is the best audio representation of such an act, and that's what Live at the 9:30 Club is. As heard here, the band most closely resembles Dispatch, with its resonant, rapid-fire, rhythmic vocals and strong beats. But Dispatch didn't have keyboards, and when you add those, the Hornsby connection makes itself heard. Also, Virginia Coalition is less interested in Jamaican beats than in Latin ones, that is, when it isn't just rocking out. But the aspect that the group shares most with its East Coast boogie rock predecessors is its audience rapport. This is a band that makes a connection with its listeners, whether it's playing an original in a salsa style, covering Bill Withers' "Lean on Me," or turning to R&B. It could hold its own anywhere from a Boston club to a Myrtle Beach bar or a thousand venues in between. Can a berth at Bonnaroo be far behind? ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
'Virginia Coalition Live at Cat's Cradle 2/4/04'
Release Date 10/5/2004
Tracks 12
Label Emusiclive
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What The Critics Say
Virginia Coalition, or VACO, as their fans like to call them, take another step in their gradual evolution into a national act with their fourth album, OK to Go, their first to be issued by an independent label, bluhammock music, rather than being self-released on their own DNC imprint. (Its predecessor, 2003's Rock & Roll Party, was picked up for national distribution by Koch.) It finds them firmly in the mold of the standard American indie rock band, as defined from the 1980s onward (and explicitly evoking the sound of four-man-band guitar rock dating back to the '60s). Andrew Poliakoff has one of those sturdy, slightly gruff baritones, placed high in the mix, that always characterizes such ensembles, and the band, usually led by noisy or chiming electric guitars and four-on-the-floor drumming, churns along under him. Starting out with "Pick Your Poison," the sound is melodic hard rock reminiscent of R.E.M. (or, more recently, Gin Blossoms), and the rock gets progressively softer as the disc reaches its middle, with the acoustic guitars broken out by the time of the fourth track, "Voyager 2." But after the warning "Get ready," things turn back to rock for "Abby Are You Endless." "Meteor" sounds like simplified Steely Dan, but on "Come and Go," Virginia Coalition finally succeeds in capturing the sound of its most direct influence, Hootie & the Blowfish. Poliakoff's voice is not as deep or distinctive as that of Hootie's Darius Rucker, but his Virginia-based band aspires to the same kind of mainstream pop/rock perfected by the South Carolina quartet. And that's despite some self-conscious hip-hop referencing, notably the hidden track that kicks in after "Bumpin' Fresh," a version of Blackstreet's 1996 hit "No Diggity." ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The Virginia Coalition are perhaps the quintessential college rock band of the late '90s/early '00s. While not necessarily innovative or "alternative," as their peers from a decade earlier would've been, the Virginia Coalition instead focus more on creating eclectic, fun, genre-busting party records. That means that the band has peers in groups like Dispatch, Guster, or the Push Stars -- bands that make music that's smart, catchy, and cleanly produced but plays away from the radio. The instrumentation leans slightly more toward organic; rather than relying on synths or beatboxes, this is straight-up classic rock & roll -- but the production is appealingly bright, modern, and commercial. It's true that plenty of bands have taken this approach to the mainstream -- Vertical Horizon, John Mayer, and yes, even the Barenaked Ladies succeeded at it, while many others (Everything, for example) failed. But Rock & Roll Party succeeds, in part, by playing it close to the vest: While the Virginia Coalition shift tempos from power pop like "By & By" to singer/songwriter pop to bar band rock & roll (the title track), they don't radically shift genres or get overburdened with excessive instrumentation. That's part of the reason why Rock & Roll Party is a fine collegiate pop record: It's smart and catchy with just enough of an adventurous spirit to carry it along. ~ Jason Damas, All Music Guide
'Colors of the Sound'
Release Date 1/1/1998
Tracks 12
Label Digital Club Network
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