Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 23
  2. Negative: 0 out of 23
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  1. Jan 14, 2015
    100
    The songcraft is high, balancing repetitive groove with dynamic surprises. There's so much variety here, from icy Joy Divisionesque excursions (Silhouettes) to Guided by Voices-through-an-echo-chamber mood (Continental Shelf) to melodic hooks (Bunker Buster) to howling post-punk fury (Death). It lends huge excitement to the project.
  2. 91
    Their approach works because the songs are so excellently written than they’d be praiseworthy coming from a less capable, more pedestrian group
  3. Jan 20, 2015
    90
    It's these frenzied, sharp-turn transitions are what make this band feel so vital, so alive and so different.
  4. Jan 14, 2015
    90
    By having more passion, more energy, more imagination than most of the field combined. By making an album that's weird and wild and I suspect unlike anything else that'll be released this year.
  5. Jan 22, 2015
    85
    Viet Cong has only seven tracks and more than half don’t pass the five minute mark. Yet all are heavy, ingenious contraptions.
  6. 85
    The best albums allow us to ruminate on life’s big questions, giving insight not only into the mind of the artist but reflecting the sentiments of the beholder, and Viet Cong does exactly that.
  7. Jan 29, 2015
    80
    An ambitious and rewarding debut.
  8. Jan 23, 2015
    80
    For now, it is refreshing to hear a band mining the searing sounds of ’81 as a cold breeze that kind of shakes you awake rather than making you want to run back indoors right away to cower under your own fears.
  9. Jan 23, 2015
    80
    Despite some questionable, off-putting decisions, there’s a wistful, melancholic temperature to this eponymous debut, one belied by the band’s sophomoric war metaphors and rubbery noodling, and it makes their self-titled debut one of the most essential records of the season for me.
  10. Jan 21, 2015
    80
    It’s appropriately chaotic, tortured, and labyrinthine; and yet still, after listening to it over and over, I can’t help but feel that it’s those delicate, beautiful moments scattered throughout the album that stand out the most among the discord, as few and far between as they might be.
  11. 80
    Fans of Women’s challenging melodies will appreciate the songcraft here, but Viet Cong are very much their own animal; with deep forays into demonic white noise ('Continental Shelf'), clanging post-punk ('Silhouettes') and psychedelic/prog-rock on sprawling closer 'Death', they're expanding into adventurous new directions.
  12. Jan 20, 2015
    80
    Viet Cong were a group full of promise on their debut EP, Cassette, and with their harder, heavier, and more powerful debut album, they're making it clear they have the talent and smarts to become a major force in Canada's indie community.
  13. Jan 20, 2015
    80
    There’s a brittle vulnerability present in Viet Cong that triggers an innate sense of curiosity and optimism despite the downtrodden tone it adopts.
  14. Jan 20, 2015
    80
    The thought and vision tucked into these constructions are inexhaustibly fun to listen to and unpack.
  15. Jan 16, 2015
    80
    Viet Cong's volatile brew often coalesces into something disarmingly catchy.
  16. Jan 16, 2015
    80
    The heartening, splendid news is that this first album, a self-titled, seven-track whirlwind, is full-on brilliant all the way through.
  17. Jan 15, 2015
    80
    2014 saw many bands trying to recreate sounds of the past in their own way, but with Viet Cong, the band are remoulding genre conventions and confirming that they’re not settling for anything other than pushing the boundaries.
  18. Jan 20, 2015
    70
    With music sounding this raw, vibrant and strikingly different to the current generation yet achingly familiar to those that will remember the original post-punk era, Viet Cong have tapped into something exciting, something too big to be contained in a Canadian city most famous for winter sports, and something that could just be the tip of the iceberg for yet another intriguing Canadian act.
  19. Uncut
    Jan 14, 2015
    70
    They've developed a needling, post-punk style that nods to Joy Division, Gang Of Four and Shellac. [Feb 2015, p.84]
  20. Jan 14, 2015
    70
    The result is something that sounds mechanical and generally detached from emotion.
  21. Mojo
    Feb 18, 2015
    60
    Viet Cong aren't quite home yet, but they're getting there. [Mar 2015, p.100]
  22. Jan 26, 2015
    60
    Viet Cong hardly shy away from evoking that tragedy, and at times they seem to still be processing its long-term impact.
  23. Mar 18, 2015
    40
    It's not fair to hold Viet Cong's hype against them, but an album this ordinary points to a generation of indie-rock writers trying, and failing, to pretend the bubble hasn't burst.
User Score
8.2

Universal acclaim- based on 73 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 67 out of 73
  2. Negative: 2 out of 73
  1. Jan 20, 2015
    10
    This should be getting far more attention than it is. Sleater Kinney's new one is great too, but this surpasses it in my opinion for it'sThis should be getting far more attention than it is. Sleater Kinney's new one is great too, but this surpasses it in my opinion for it's originality, and intensity. I love it, start to finish. Not a bad song on here. Full Review »
  2. Feb 24, 2015
    8
    Viet Cong prove that they can live up to the expectations that inevitably came with the status of being the spiritual successor of the praisedViet Cong prove that they can live up to the expectations that inevitably came with the status of being the spiritual successor of the praised band Women. Ultimately, the self-titled debut album of Viet Cong is a post-punk behemoth with a ferocious drive behind all the bleak lyrics, mostly expressed through loud guitars and military sounding drums mixed with a healthy portion of experimental synths. It definitely raised the bar for any album to come after it. Full Review »
  3. Jan 22, 2015
    10
    I can't remember when I've heard music like this. My first reaction was a more amped up gothic band like Death In June. They also remind me ofI can't remember when I've heard music like this. My first reaction was a more amped up gothic band like Death In June. They also remind me of Ice Age, who are also making this kind of music these days. If, like me, you can't understand the lyrics or what they're singing about, just the tone of the vocals gives you the clue. This is a great album and comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Full Review »