by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)

Orlando via Chicago via Philly via Orlando’s Vivian K. have stayed busy since their inception four years ago, having lived in nearly as many cities, forming bonds in some of the country’s best DIY scenes that have influenced their sound, and pushed their creativity. The trio have come full circle and are back in the confines of Orlando, but their upcoming album, Very, isn’t playing it “safe back home,” it’s too busy getting weird, blending their stoned take on emo and folk into something both gentle and dynamic. The record is warm with sentiment and heart on your sleeve lyrics, but theres a sense of exploration and a push toward the jittery unknown packed into every corner.

The album’s first single, “Paul At Art’s Grave” is a shinning example of the band’s off-kilter pop. It’s jangly and damn near whimsical, but there’s still a sense of isolation and despair hidden in the joyous melody. With themes of space and hibernation, the song follows a front-porch barn burner of guitar picking (the could just as easily be a banjo), spouting lines like, “we’re stuck in a black hole being tortured by conversation where no one seems to know the difference between self-care and masturbation.” As the rhythm comes stomping in with that swampy folk charm that once gave life to bands like Maps & Atlases, Vivian K. don’t rest on the easy going vibes for too long. The band wander their way into a tangled web of math rock progressions and knotted rhythms, tearing in and out of their folk essence with a complex breeze as unpredictable as it is endearing.