The Vitamen

Arlene's Grocery, New York, NY.....

My friend Suzanne always raved about The Vitamen, so I went to see them. They're sort of a Ween-meets-Pavement band: very quirky lyrics and indie rock sound, but not afraid to mix in different styles. Their song "Pretty Little Secret" is a perfect example--an R&B styled song filtered through modern lo-fi with, um, offbeat lyrics to say the least. 


That night I also met former Sumak frontman and current "Boy Wonder" Mark McAdam. His solo album was titled Boy Wonder, and it was perhaps the best unsigned album I've heard in a long, long time. McAdam's songs are a touch of Tom Waits, a bit of Leonard Cohen, and maybe some of Paul Westerberg's wry self-deprecation. His old band Sumack, purveyers of self-described "junk rock," were more like a typical pop-rock band, albeit with really sharp lyrics (although McAdam's future direction was certainly foreshadowed).

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