Viet Cong Bring Their Post Punk Sound to The Echo

It’s hard to come back from a public confrontation in front of hundreds of audience members expecting to hear just the music and not the drama. That’s what happened to Canadian noise pop band, Women, on their 2010 gig at a local bar in Victoria, British Columbia. Brothers Pat Flegel and Matthew Flegel apparently got in a scuffle on stage due to “near-exhaustion” and “poor health” according to their publicist/manager. This marked the end for what came to be one of the most innovative and bold punk bands to ever come out of Canada. That’s where Viet Cong comes in.

Viet Cong is a somber post punk band from Calgary, Alberta that includes two ex-members of the now defunct Women. Matt Flegel (vocals/bass) along with Mike Wallace (drums), Scott Munro (guitar), and Daniel Christiansen (guitar) create an otherworldly concoction of angular post punk riffs, doomy drums, and evocative and ghostly vocals. The band has had their fair share of death and turmoil that informs much of their music. Apart from the cathartic sibling fight on stage, Women experienced the sudden and tragic death of their guitarist, Christopher Reimer, while he was asleep. Such a slap to the face by the universe would make anyone cynical and jaded.

Instead, the band decided to form an angry, angsty, and fervent post-noise band that followed the same forward-thinking mentality that Women had. Their EP cassette titled “Cassette”, released in 2013, was a glorious attempt at black post-punk with stand out tracks like “Static Wall” and the Goth punk “Dark Entries” which walked the line between drone punk and slacker pop.

In 2014, the band signed to Canadian label Flemish Eye and saw some success with the reissue of their cassette via vinyl through Mexican Summer Records. Their eponymous debut album was released on Jagjaguwar and Flemish Eye on January 2015 and saw the band mature and develop a more refined sound bringing a foot-stomping and depression-inducing album to the masses. More than an album, it is an experience into the dark world of drone-y post punk, which isn’t being explored enough nowadays.

Viet Cong continue to make strides in the underground punk scene showing that they are methodical, engaging, and original. They are one of the few bands out there who forgo commercial success for cathartic release of their emotions. They embrace their quirks and idiosyncrasies to create a densely populated album of fast-finger picking, exhaustive drumming patterns, and deadpan vocals. They are the hay in the needle stack of popular music.

Viet Cong will be performing with Freak Heat Waves and Heathers at The Echoplex on Friday, March 6 at 8:30 pm. This event is 18 and over.