Viji - “Karaoke"

SXSW 2024 - OEB Score: 7; Popularity Index: 4

Pairs Well With…Kurt Vile, Snail Mail, Chastity Belt

Fuzzy and lo fi, Viji balances musical distance with sharp songwriting on her debut full-length So Vanilla, a garage rock record with bubbling pop tones underneath. Part new-wave rock and part bedroom pop, Viji’s music is both dirt-covered and relatively sugary at the same time. There are some sad, more minimal ballads like “Sundress in Pink” on So Vanilla, but even that song features reverb-risen atmospherics to distort the tenderness of her raw vocal takes. On the other hand, “Sharks” is full-on punk intensity; the ability Viji has to lean into both dissonance and catchiness on So Vanilla is impressive and refreshing minute to minute. (Kevin McStravick)