Rocks like: Panic! at the Disco, Fall Out Boy, and Sunny Day Real State
Vega Under Fire on Myspace | Band on Pure Volume | Buy Life of the Party on ITunes

This is a small featurette version of a new review feature I intend to begin utilizing every now and again. I call it “What My Wife Says”. The overall idea will be to have my wife make some notes or discuss an album with me, then I will post her thoughts followed by my review of the CD. I call this edition a featurette, because I will be publishing a short mini-review after the notes from the discussion with my wife… I will actually be publishing my full review of this Life of the Party on Nerd Lives where I am a staff writer and contribute primarily with music and movie reviews.

What My Wife Thinks: Vega Under Fire
This edition is manuscript style, though I admit it is paraphrased

thepaintedman (TPM) and his wife (BEH) sit in car, TPM puts Life of the Party in CD player.

TPM: So, what do you think?
BEH: Did you say these guys were dance rock?
TPM: That’s what I thought, but they seem more like pop-punk or something to me now. I thought I read in someone else’s review that they were dance rock.
BEH: Sounds like Sunny Day Real Estate.
TPM: Really? Hmmm…
BEH: I mean, his voice sounds like the guy from Sunny Day.

Some time passes, first couple of tracks play, conversation starts again.

TPM: I love when bands use gang vocals, don’t know why, but I do.
BEH: I don’t know, it feels misplaced. Gang vocals are for dirtier bands.
TPM: Dirty bands? I think of old-school Pennywise and H2O when I hear gang vocals. Is that what you mean?
BEH: Yeah, like dirtier, grittier punk bands, not pop-punk. I mean, I guess Pennywise is poppy sometimes, but yeah, I think of bands like them, too.

After listening to the rest of the EP, I get back into it.

TPM: So, what do you think about the EP overall? I think it’s a bit generic, but the production quality is good. You wouldn’t know it’s a self-released EP by one of those bands that you always call my “crappy local bands”.
BEH: No, it sounds really good. It is a bit generic, but it’s not bad at all.
TPM: I’d expect to hear them opening for Panic! at the Disco or something. Little girls would rave about them.
BEH: Yeah, they sound like that pop-punk alternative type stuff. Really not that bad.

Overall, my wife and I basically agreed that Life of the Party was a bit generic, but a solid major label quality product. I did note to her that I thought the opening track, “Fabricated Air” would likely be creeping onto some mix CDs I make, as I like it and find it to be a good catchy tune. The production value was the most impressive thing to me, as someone who reviews alot of music. I would have placed it on a major label or at least a well backed indie label by the quality of the production.

For a full review of this album, keep checking Nerd Lives for the next week or two. In the meantime, download Life of the Party on ITunes and formulate your own opinion.