ViennaCC isn’t shy about warning us of the dangerous games awaiting us on the beats beneath “Online Love,” but with a little assistance from the pulsating beat behind him, the imagery in his lyrics comes to life before us in more than a melodic fashion. The harmonies here feel divine in spots, tethering cultural influences from across the spectrum together under the tree of an alternative pop I could get used to as a music critic.
There’s a lot more to “Online Love” than simple poeticisms and punchy hooks, but cosmetically speaking, it’s got a kind of curb appeal that I rarely see out of indie players off the radar of the mainstream – if anywhere at all.
There’s a lot of heart in this performance, and it isn’t limited to the vocal element ViennaCC produces with maximum grandiosity. The elegant sizzle of his synth could be the most honest component of this material, and through the clandestine hybrid of vintage punk and a more contemporary, vibrant strain of neo-pop, it’s able to flourish in a way not normally afforded to modern material. I was impressed by the seamless integration of themes and aesthetics in this release, but after deeper consideration, they’re just the tip of the iceberg when taking in all of the detail this gifted player has put into an otherwise simplistic and wholly straightforward single. It’s a skill I don’t recommend amateurs even attempt to master; truth be told, it’s more of a gift.
I notice a powerful appreciation for the craft in ViennaCC’s multidimensionality as an instrumentalist as well as a singer and composer in this track, and because of the familiar passion he is applying to the material in identical doses, I think he could probably trade out the electric elements and crashing percussion for more stripped-down instrumentation and still induce just as many chills as they do here. This guy’s love of music transcends the somewhat DIY, tonally raw feel of the mix to make even the more jagged elements in this song sound deliberately edgy. You’ve got to give him some credit for inventiveness, but at its core, “Online Love” is more a testament to his commitment than it is anything else.
While I only just found out about ViennaCC through the release of “Online Love” this early summer, the magic he can make in this song has given me cravings for more of his content sooner than later. I’m hesitant to call this an old-school industrial rock number simply for the fact that so many different artistic points are aligning to shape the narrative and look of the material, but in all honesty, it’s got the same iconic feel I only get out of the atonal punk classics we’ve all grown up with on the FM dial. ViennaCC cares about the quality of his work, and as much as it pains me to admit this as an audiophile, that’s just not the standard in pop anymore, even though it really ought to be when looking at this kind of performance.
Clay Burton