5 out of 5

Label: mySpace Records

Produced by: Linda Perry (tracks 3, 5, 6), Tim Edgar

It’s not perfect, but give it an extra star for the full-on bombast that propels one to listen to this disc over and over…

I came to Nico Vega through the single ‘Beast,’ which fueled the more action-oriented Bioshock Infinite trailers that were released.  I was a little skeptical of chick rock with potential social activism overtones, but I couldn’t deny that the song was effectively chosen for the trailer: it rocked.  Thankfully, the highlights of that track – Aja’s passionate, husky shouts, Dan Epand’s pummeling, tribal drums, and a meaty production sound that pumped it up with just enough layering to arena-size it but maintain the music’s rawness – all of that is maintained on almost every god damned track on this self-titled album.  Aja’s ‘fight for your right’ lyrics don’t always paint the most unique picture (there’s certainly some posturing here), but the lines are by no means cookie cutter either, with heavy imagery popping up to support the catchiest god damned choruses on, for example, ‘Living Underground’ or ‘Family Train.’  And even tracks that are a little more personal in focus, lasering their ire onto a particular’s (or a type of particular) personality, as in ‘So So Fresh,’ or the maybe breakup song ‘Gravity,’ keep the moody swagger going.  Hell, I even dig the swearing.  The quality only really lets up when those other elements do: the acoustic ‘Iron Man’ is certainly more intimate, but it’s also rather generic, and the poppy ‘Rabbit in the Bag’ is a nice break from the beats, but it’s a reminder that the moments where tracks are gathering their muster could be mistaken for everyday radio singles until the Kravitz-esque riffs drop and Aja starts chanting.  Not to suggest that every moment on this needed to be amped up, but Nico Vega’s sound is rather defined by Aja’s command of the mic and the group’s ability to kick out continually muscular riffage, so… maybe, yeah, it’s best to keep us in a continual state of frenzy.

There are other discs whose lyrics might move me more than the fist-pumping anthems here, or whose sequencing is tight from start to finish.  But any album that makes you – makes you – want to hit play again the moment its last track concludes (and whose opening stomp of drums never fails to get you going again) obviously deserves some notice.  Back that up – as Nico Vega does – with above average writing, awesomely catchy compositions, and a production sparkle that respects every instrument…  Well, I don’t have to spend excessive paragraphs feeling like I need to justify my five stars.  (Just these few.)