Music
Store

The Velvet Teen has mastered melody. The vocal part of every song on the CD will beg you to sing along. While it is largely guitar-based, the band also employs a great deal of keyboard on this one. Judah Nagler's unique, mellow, and often falsetto voice gives each song enough hook alone, as does the simple-yet-innovative-instrumentation. The combination of those two elements makes for an irresistable art-pop masterpiece.

Lyrical content is overwhelmingly inspired as well. You will find no sappy love songs or silly "you broke my heart" songs here. Instead, the songs deal in great depth with various human passions. For example, "The Prize Fighter" describes the arduous journey to success from the perspective of a contender, "Four Story Tantrum" describes the melancholy and lonely existence of a girl with whom the narrator is apparently taken, and the slowest song on the CD, "Red Like Roses," is sort of an ode to breaking free of the mundane, to self-exploration, and to self-expression.

I can pretty much promise you that you will love this CD, and that there is no need to sample it first, but I must warn that one (and only one) person that I met said that he didn't like Judah's voice so he didn't like the band. I love his voice, but based on this anecdote, I would suggest you at least get a feel for his voice before buying the CD.

LONG LIVE PEOPLE NAMED JUDAH


WOW - let's leave it at that   May 5, 2002
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I would like to start off by saying, I don't want The Velvet Teen to get famous. It's not that they don't deserve fame and glory, because they definitely do. But I like to think of these guys as Santa Rosa's best kept secret. The only problem is the secret is coming out. After a tour that spanned the nation, The Velvet Teen is spreading their sound, and everyone is interested. But personally, I don't want Velvet Teen's fans to be the same screaming girls that line up for Britney Spears and BSB concerts. Rather, I'd like for Velvet Teen fans to be true music lovers who enjoy their originality, creativity, and artistic talent.
Now that I have said that, let me just say that this album is amazing. After an excellent first CD, the Velvet Teen has emerged with an even better record, although it seems impossible to top a near-perfect debut. Out of the Fierce Parade is full of beautifully written songs, complete with Judah's gorgeous voice. My favorite songs include "Caspian Can Wait," "Four Story Tantrum," and "Your Last Words," and that's because I am usually drawn to faster music. But "A Special Gift to You" and "Death" are so emotion filled and "Red Like Roses" is what my friend calls, "cool stoner music." Come to think of it, I don't have a favorite song at all. Each of the ten songs are different in their own way and I love every minute I spend listening to this CD. But please, buy the CD and hear the music for yourself and I promise, you won't be disappointed.


if you don't absolutely love this album, you are dead to me.   December 14, 2004
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

I have tried to expose many people to this album, failing miserably with every attempt. I don't know what it is about that is inaccessible to a great many people, but if you know anything about music you know that this is one of the most original and sonically pleasant and lyrically fantastic albums in a long time. I can't think of another album that is as complete and flawless as this thing.

You just have to hear it. Everybody should at least give it a try, the first time i heard "Death," I think a piece of my heart fell off and disintegrated...never to be found again. Simply amazing.


This is the best CD!!!!   April 22, 2002
 2 out of 2 found this review helpful

The Velvet Teen is my new favorite band. I just saw them live in Petaluma on 4/19 and I bought their CD, Out of the Fierce Parade. My favorite song is "Caspian Can Wait" but all the songs are really good. This is one CD you can listen to without skipping around. The Velvet Teen is gonna be really famous and they have so much talent that I hope they do get lots of fame!!!!!