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Vickers Vimy’s Atlas of Hearts

Vickers Vimy’s Atlas of Hearts is a strong, diverse album that excels based on the band’s crafty arrangement skills and excellent vocal performances.

Vickers Vimy can write compelling folk tunes in a variety of milieus. Opener “Bonfire of Dantes” is wrapped in the adornments of Spaghetti Westerns, with lazy trumpets and high-drama guitar work, while follow-up “Chicago” is only a touch less catchy and loads more mandolin-folky than Sufjan’s track of the same name.

“Mermaid of Luna Park” has some screamin sax, blaring organ, and ‘90s Goo Goo Dolls vibes in the guitar tone and vocal melodies. “Peg and Hammer” has the insistent urgency of The Rural Alberta Advantage, while “Keep Your Eyes on the Road” is a cross between Josh Ritter and Jack Johnson. They know how to write a great song in tons of different ways. It’s like an early Decemberists album that has 15 different things going on per album but it all sounds great together.

Their vision coalesces around the title track, where a clarinet duets with a violin playing a slightly dissonant line. The rest of the band hums along perfectly, giving the lead instruments and the vocals tons of space. Even though the arrangement here is stellar, it’s the vocals that win this tune. Ed Drea has a high tenor voice prone to soaring lines, and that tendency is put to great effect in this track. Elsewhere he controls his voice on the hushed, European, open-air cafe vibe of “Budapest” and even sneaks in some ominous spoken word on murder ballad “Red Moon Rising.” There’s not a bad performance in the record, as all of the vocals are compelling and clear.

Atlas of Hearts is a record of wide-ranging interests and ideas. The band pulls it all off admirably, and the vocals sell the whole work. If you’re into eclectic full-band folk like Beirut or The Decemberists, this will catch your interest quite a bit.