The Hybrid Vine

By Matt Bates
Photo Courtesy of The Hybrid Vine / Album Art by Tina Weatherby

With their sound still being formulated, The Hybrid Vine demos are a curious blend of reverberated vocals accompanied by unconvincing instruments. The bands ‘rock’ song “Say Your Goodbye’s” starts off-timed and works its way through a simple verse that is sprinkled with cautiously accented cymbal hits. The bass guitar holds down the low-end but still was lost when it came to landing. The song’s main riff closely resembles “Hot Blooded” by Foreigner, almost too closely.

Moving onto other songs by the band, it is clear that they have a disorganized and unpolished formula for creating music. Maybe this is what they are going for? The band has recently released its newest track titled “Slave”—an instrumental track that attempts to pull at the heartstrings, but may be best suited for losing your virginity in the back seat of your Mom’s 1978 station wagon. Whose bell-bottoms are these?

The next few tracks “Majestic Time” and “Here Comes the Groove” are more stimulating and the sound that the band should be producing. It’s live, it’s crusty and it captures what they need to be working towards. “Majestic Time” is an honest, open-chord rocker that moves effortlessly with a soothing rhythm, while “Here Comes the Groove’s” deranged drum patterns and lack of bass presence get your feet tapping. It’s chaotic. It’s cluttered. It’s The Hybrid Vine.