the Architects – “Vice” review

The Architects – “Vice”
(Anodyne Records)

The Phillips brothers have been making records since the mid-90s, and with each release, they get better. This should be – as one would assume – their best release yet.

It’s not. The Architects have serious soul – Brandon Phillips has always been able to wail like Wilson Pickett, and on Vice, he’s got brother Zach and new guitarist Keanon Nichols singing along with him. Maybe it’s the fact that I’ve seen the band three times in the past month, but the recording doesn’t really boom the way their live show does. This album has more hooks and sing-alongs than the last two. Songs like “Pills” and “Help” both feature three-part harmonies that soar, while “Daddy Wore Black” is (as Brandon puts it live) “a song about daddies – my daddy, your daddy, his daddy…” It’s a rocker.

Unfortunately, the production values just don’t live up to what could have been. This is an album that could have been the band’s breakthrough. The hooks are there, it’s the catchiest thing they’ve ever done, but Vice doesn’t have that big room-filling sound that’s need to really get these songs to blast out of your speakers. The aforementioned songs come close, but “Oklahoma” and other, slower numbers just sound flat and dim. It’s a great rock record, but only when you hear the band play it live. On your stereo, it’s a bit of a letdown.

Daddy Wore Black