By Deuce

There are not too many songs in existence that come even remotely close to Chained Lizard’s “Electric Vibes”.

Have you ever heard a tune where the drum pattern switches just about every eight bars? And not just the pattern, mind you, but the tempo as well, going from skyrocketing fast to nothing (as in bereft of any and all percussion) in a span of a few seconds?

Such is how “Vibes” comes across, certainly allowing it to live up to its cognomen of ‘electric’. It’s almost as though the Melbourne, Australia based group—comprised of Olivia Lisa Marie on keys and vocals, Chris Vozz on drums and something cryptically categorized as ‘electrics’ (there’s that word again), John Vozz on lead guitar and Dom Vaz on the bass—want to do everything at once, or at least one after another within a short span.

Thus, the tune ends up being part ballad, part rager, part emo, and a couple other parts that come and go with a swiftness that belies their magnitude on the track. Granted, the effort is two seconds shy of a full five minutes, which certainly leaves the group time to rotate styles and genres, as it were, as oft as they like.

But the counterpoints in this cut are legendary. Check the way they open up with Marie’s feathery soprano wrapped around the most innocent of electric guitars and some keyboard work evocative of Prince’s “dearly beloved/we are gathered here today…” intro for “Lets Go Crazy”.

Interestingly enough, that’s just what the Chained ones do at points in this song, in which the electric guitar effects duly enhance those of the vocals so much that it’s hard to tell who’s doing the screaming, Marie or Vozz’s guitar. Plus they throw in a slapper of a four-on-the-floor in spurts, sometimes accompanied by a snare and other times not, that makes the energy elevate out of this stratosphere.

It’s not long, however, before all drums disappear, the notes on the keys become elongated, and you’ve never heard an electric guitar as sweet as Vozz’s as Marie muses about some awfully powerful inspiration to have her going back and forth as fitfully as she does. It all makes for one heckuva ride; just be sure to have your seatbelt on for this one.