Music Review // Vinyl Floor "Balancing Act"

Vinyl Floor has accomplished something with the album "Balancing Act" that not many artists accomplish in music today.   Vinyl Floor has managed to create an album which not only feels like more than just a collection of songs, but also has some weight behind it.  "Balancing Act" just feels like the type of album that used to come out as a record back during the 1960's or 1970's, even if it doesn't have that same sound.  The music isn't something you can easily digest, but the way it sits with you reminds me of music from days long lost, as our society has become more urgent and easily distracted.

What I appreciate most about this album is that every song (especially lyrically) just feels like their own contained little story, but they also come to work together in the grand scheme of the album.  You can take a song like "I'm on the Upside" and hear that pop rock / Buddy Holly quality in it, but at the same time the way it flows from the song before it to the next song when it ends is just as important.  Every song on this album has its place and that feels more like you should hear this from start to finish as much as you should listen to a single song.

When listening to "Balancing Act" I'm reminded of artists such as Barenaked Ladies, as the sound can take on this more upbeat, acoustic style.  There are also big strings in a somewhat instrumental song, "Back of My Hand", which can make me think of this great dance number but in a classical style of dancing not at the club.  This, of course, differs from, say, "Jacaranda Blossoms", which has this big synth feel to it, as it builds.   In some ways, if you heard one song on here on a playlist and then heard another song by Vinyl Floor a few songs later on the same playlist you may not make the connection.  This album has a way of connecting all of these songs.

Perhaps my favorite part of this album though is how it works and just feels overall like this big, thematic device.  This is not something which happens often in music- it's a concept album of sorts, but the concept just seems to be to rock.  I hear comparisons of this with artists such as The Beatles and Radiohead.  When you think of how much music just those two artists cover, but yet how many more artists are out there over time and just don't fit into this same mold it's quite impressive.  "Balancing Act" is a truly one of a kind album which hits all the right notes with music, lyrics and concept.