Venice is Sinking
Sorry About the Flowers

Sad names and orchestral pop can be signs of borrowed emo melancholy. But from the expansive opening of Pulaski Heights, we know that VIS are the real thing. The smooth melodic strain of Daniel Lawson's vocals, nearly mumbling a relationship requiem, is appropriately lost in a sea of drums, keyboards and Karolyn Troupe's gorgeous voice and viola, which add a sense of yearning and a Celtic lilt to the sadness. The relationship may be their own (the two separated before recording) –Sorry About the Flowers records the mind-numbing depths of a breakup with heartfelt subtlety. Though the motif threatens to blend the songs together into a swamp of Americana shoegazer (a Western analogue to Tag Team Records' other favorite sons, Lonely China Day), it also beckons the listener to sink in too. Alex Pasternack