Tom Lynch

London-based pop quartet Vega4 offers "You and Others," primed for radio play, sensitive, well-groomed and tight with orchestral musings. Two years ago, the U.S. "top of the pops" was getting a song on the "The OC," but today it's getting your song on the hyper-emotional hospital dramedy "Grey's Anatomy," as Vega4 recently did with its six-minute-long single "Life is Beautiful." While Snow Patrol comparisons are inevitable, the band evokes the fine-tuned gloss of late U2 (for better or worse) and, to the sure joy of some, Coldplay, with simple, heartfelt odes. The simplicity of the songwriting--matched with the consistent execution--results in a record that stands as proof of why ordinary pop songs still work.

"That was exactly our intention, at least lyrically," vocalist and guitarist Johnny McDaid, originally from Ireland, says of the approach. "Simple and honest and shining a light on the details--it's enough to trigger massive emotion. If it's grandiose or over-the-top, or bombastic, it'll push people away. Creating something that will last is based in simplicity. I'm not a complex musician--I'm not technically good. I'm not a poet--but I love words. For me, a great record communicates on a simple level--shake it up baby, twist and shout."

Because each member came into the project with different musical influences--ranging from dance music to somewhat traditional, rock `n' roll inspiration--the band would bring in what McDaid calls "homework" to each meeting, ten tracks each, to play for the other members. The result was highly educational, "A real eye opener for everybody," McDaid says, "amazingly."

The record has yet to be released stateside--it's available now online from the band's Web site--but it will get an official release on Original Signal Recordings, hopefully in March, according to McDaid.

And how did McDaid react to hearing his song set to the constant emotional spewing of Hollywood stars on television? "Pretty positively," he says. "I believe in the song, from the bottom of my socks, without question...[it's the same as] walking into a restaurant, with someone playing your record in the background."

Vega4 opens for Augustana January 25 at Metro, 3730 North Clark, (773)549-0203, at 7pm. $15.

(2007-01-23)

Also by Tom Lynch

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The 1900s, Bound Stems, Psalm One and more
(2007-01-16)

Verge Overkill
Bang! Bang!, Chin Up Chin Up, The Changes and more
(2007-01-16)

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"Alternadad," author Neal Pollack's new work of nonfiction, follows the trials and tribulations of a punk-rock slacker-writer and his wife as they struggle with parenthood, trying to stay youthful themselves, attempting, in so many ways, to stay cool
(2007-01-16)

Tip of the Week
Califone's "Roots & Crowns," undoubtedly the band's best record yet, on Thrill Jockey, catapults the group beyond the experimental art-folk tag and into a new realm of superfluous categorization--musical geniuses
(2007-01-16)

Tip of the Week
(2007-01-16)

Our Little Ponys
(2007-01-09)

Tip of the Week
(2007-01-09)

Tip of the Week
(2007-01-02)

Tip of the Week
(2006-12-22)

All Acquaintance Be Forgot
(2006-12-22)

The Year in Rock
(2006-12-19)

Tip of the Week
(2006-12-12)

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