Music City Mayhem Round 5: Vitek vs Kim Logan

The Contestants

In the left corner: Vitek. As you may have noticed, I decided to forego the usual genre-label preceding these guys' name. That's because they fall into that same weird, wonderful, and still half-virgin territory as bands such as Vampire Weekend, Django Django, and to some extent, bands like Beach House and Sigur Rós. Vitek is definitely indie, definitely rock, and definitely too catchy to be labeled "dreampop" or "shoegazing," but this is where the clarity ends. Their song selection, "Sunbird," almost reminds me of a synth-infected version of Rusted Root's "Send Me On My way" (you know, that song from Ice Age), and is captivating irregardless of what category it belongs in. Their video selection is for a song called "Kaleidoscope," which is equally as good and ventures more into dreamy art/post-rock realms. Plus, the video itself is a tripped out voyage that includes an Abraham Lincoln lookalike, forest fairy creatures, a scary clown, and (you guessed it) a kaleidoscope. Yeah, it's as awesome as it sounds.

In the right: swampy blues songstress Kim Logan. She sings with that Amy Winehouse-birthed inflection that seems to be all the rage amongst female singers right now, which I have previously referred to as "cigarettes-and-Tanqueray throat." Her song "Gentleman" is smoke filled number with a hook that finds Kim threatening "Boy, you better learn to be a gentleman." The sexy, slightly sinister, independent-girl thing isn't exactly novel anymore, but that's not to say that Kim doesn't fit the bill well. I couldn't help but think that she sounded like a less-intense version of Luella and the Sun, a truly face-melting band that I had the fortune to see last Saturday at Mercy Lounge. Her video is a short promo that features Youtube clips of her fans singing along to "Gentleman," and is fun but short-lived. My only real beef with her is that her website bio comes off pretty self-important, but then again, whose doesn't? I love it when artist websites just leave that part out entirely...

The Verdict

Can you guess who one of those bands without a website bio might be? You guessed it...Vitek! Really, though, this didn't have anything to do with my choice; I'm just excited to hear something this fresh and decidedly un-country coming from Nashville. I did enjoy Kim as well, and I'm sure I'll be hearing more of her in the future, but my vote has to go to Vitek. 

P.S. A thanks the The Young International for following me on Twitter even though they weren't my pick for yesterday. Congrats guys, and best of luck in the next round!