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Need a shot of good old rock-and-roll attitude? Meet Michael Gerner of the Brooklyn quartet VietNam, who snarls, “I don’t give a flying fuck if you wanna try and save me,” with sleazy gusto. In the grand tradition of Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, and umpteen others, Gerner plays the wild-eyed poet and streetwise troublemaker, celebrating hustlers, losers, and similar urban misfits, as the band mixes a hard guitar jangle reminiscent of the Strokes and more graceful touches drawn from vintage soul music. Timeless and modern at once, this riveting debut succeeds on the strength of its outlandish ambitions and relentless, jittery energy.
