MP3 Vee Dee - Public Mental Health System

Heavy psych garage punk with a rock 'n' roll heart and a jazzer's diseased mind.

13 MP3 Songs in this album (67:22) !
Related styles: ROCK: Garage Rock, ROCK: Acid Rock

People who are interested in MC5 Hawkwind The Stooges should consider this download.


Details:
Record Reviews
Vee Dee "Public Mental Health System" Double Lp/cd

(Public Mental Health System bio)
Heavy times call for a heavy soundtrack, and thatâs what Chicagoâs VEE DEE has accomplished with their new double album Public Mental Health System. This record blurs the lines between garage, punk and psychedelia; it is the sound of desperate, no-compromise rock ânâ roll of the past being absorbed and then re-interpreted for NOW. The title gives name to a non-existent institution our country could use, and is a statement of intent for the 13 songs on this record. VEE DEE conjures a dark world that exists both in the personal psyche and the society around us. This is not a complete bleakness however- there is a fiery spirit here that is very much alive and joyous. Short fast dark garage punk segues into heavy riffing and guitar freak-outs. Moody folk chords bang up against frantic fuzz turnarounds. Over it all, lyrics of abstract yet direct poetry are hollered and crooned, aided by well-placed backing vocals. Dan Langâs thick fuzz bass powers each song, bringing huge bottom to the moody chord changes and often adding a sublime melodic edge. Nick DâVyneâs guitar playing is both rhythmic and capable of face-ripping leads utilizing fuzz and chaotic wah. Chicago garage heavyweight Matt Williams (Hot Machines, Lover!, LiveFastDie) keeps this whole thing moving with his booming, trashy drumming. Two songs, "Dogâs Breath" and "Electric Room" feature VEE DEEâs new drummer Ryan Murphy (Ex-M.O.T.O.), who brings a super solid rhythmic dynamic to the bandâs sound. Their first album was titled "Furthur" and with Public Mental Health System, VEE DEE has indeed moved their sound along.


(Aquarius Records)
Yay, more primo scuzz n' swagger from Chicago punkers Vee Dee (not to be confused with another band we've listed called Veee Deee), rockin' at us from even deeper down the dark Midwestern hole of nihilism and negativity they inhabit, a place littered with cigarette butts, empty beer cans, and dogeared collectible copies of '70s punk rock fanzines. We'd been wondering when we'd hear from 'em again. Their 2004 debut Furthur was a surprise hit here at AQ, proving to be as catchy as the band's namesake. This new double vinyl gatefold lp (which comes packaged with a handy compact disc containing all the music too) maybe due to its expanse is not quite as immediately catchy, taking a few more spins before the singalong aspects start to sink in, but they do, as Vee Dee churn out 4 sides, 13 songs, of raucous psychedelic punk, heavy on the glorious guitar distortion. Perhaps imagine a cross between Pissed Jeans and Plastic Crimewave? The Heads and Mudhoney are possible references too, with Black Flag and Misfits and the Electric Eels being necessary ones, along with various and sundry obscure bands who left bloodstains across the Midwest back in the '70s... Oh and their song "Into The Void" isn't a Sabbath cover, instead it comes closer to sounding like the Stooges, obviously another big influence.
Public Health Mental System has got something of a cosmic / drug vibe, due to song titles like "Glimpses Of Another World", "Cleveland, Outerspace" and "Teens O.D." we guess, plus of course all the fuzzed out soundz. Pharoahs and pyramids are also mentioned. But there's no color, the cover art and the music too is all still in brilliant black and white, a la space and night. Inner space being the place they're really headed, on a bad trip, yet Vee Dee's psych-ological bringdown music still rocks with gleeful abandon, 'cause, fuck it.




(The Onion "The Chicago Decider")
For some bands, progressing to a new sound requires slow and steady motion. As far as influences are concerned, thereâs no doubt that proto-punk legends MC5 and The Stooges are reference points for local garage-rock vets Vee Dee. And, for the first few songs on its latest album, Public Mental Health System, very little suggests that the trio has changed its affinity for grungy riffs, wah-heavy licks, and howling vocals. As Public Mental Health System progresses, however, a stranger, less definable musical styling creeps into the bandâs sound. Songs like âElectric Roomâ begin to branch out into more adventurous territory by incorporating jazz-heavy bass lines and improv-influenced song structures. Halfway through, the group's unexpected garage-pop wallop has just as much of an impact as the band's more experimental forays in ghostly Sonic Youth-esque rock. From side two and on, Vee Deeâs Public Mental Health System reveals itself as the kind of melodically-fractured double album that indie bands used to create on seminal labels like SSTâin other words, a revelation. Grade: A


(Dusted Magazine)
Vee Dee is a good, if unassuming band that operates at its own pace (the kind that allows them to take five years in between the super-sized Public Mental Health System and 2004âs more svelte debut, Furthur). But theyâre not a garage band, even though they seem to play with them, and are on an associated label; theyâre just one in a long line of underheard rockers that hang somewhere within the awareness of punk and garage, but are really into their own thing, bordering on classic rock and early metal, bar blues and blacklight posters. Just by looking at these guys and how they represent themselves across this gatefold sleeve, flanking a rotting front porch on the back cover, and hand-done layouts of mimeographed lyrics dotted with syringes, comic book panels, scattered study hall desk carvings and recommended designs for aspiring blotter acid artists, you get the notion that this was a thing that had to come out for personal reasons. Iâll bet these guys get pretty pissed off when some blowhard they have to deal with, like a co-worker who doesnât get it or their great aunt they see once a year starts asking about their band and what they sound like. âWeâre called Vee Dee.â What? âVee Dee. You know, like the clap?â
Those who make it their business to understand rock music have seen bands like Vee Dee all sorts of different ways, from the righteous basement trip of â80s and â90s bands like the Original Sins, Gravel, and forgotten travelers the Mortals, and weâve seen it go the way of heinous, begging-for-profit bullshit like the Mooney Suzuki. But in Vee Dee, the strength lies in it all being one manâs game, more or less, and thatâs guitarist/vocalist Nick DâVyne. Playing in a lineage of DâBoon, EâBloom, and RâAsheton, DâVyne doesnât seem at all like a corny dude, and the way he goes about picking up the threads from a stranger time â definitely the strangest time Iâve lived through, this decade â shoots down any reasoning for how his style developed, other than out of survival. He might have a big comic book collection, or maybe bassist Dan Lang or drummer Ryan Murphy does, or did at some point. You hear it in lyrics like âPhaedra, speak with your mindâ or âthere is no Earth anymore / we have destroyed it.â You hear guys with imagination tied to their fears, softening the blows of the impending apocalypse through obsolete coping tools like musty game rooms and horror movies on UHF channels. They play out the cool older brother vibe really well, only said sibling is paranoid of his own responsibilities, and unable to find anyone to reassure him that it will be alright. And, after Side 1 opener, the Hawkwind-esque âGlimpses of Another Worldâ (released in late 2007 as a single), the recordâs unsteady logic shoves it in your gut. This is a lot of music to get through â 13 loud songs across 67 minutes â and requires a bit of navigational strategy so as not to feel worn out. My advice is to appreciate the opening cut on its own, then start in on Side 2 â the record stays great and just gets better from there on out, flashbacked and strobing with survivorâs guilt and evenings of tequila-fueled mayhem and windowpane lucidity. Some real dark nights of the soul can happen in this environment, which is all part of the risk; that sort of 5 a.m. panic attack you give yourself sometimes is captured here in uncanny detail (âTeens O.D.â being a prime example). Overall, once the dust clears around a real nice lift of the central riff from Hard Stuffâs âMonster in Paradiseâ on closer âDogâs Breath,â you realize just how impressive it is that this single-minded set comes together so well, and what a great performer DâVyne is, throwing a coin in Iggyâs fountain and screaming with hometown Chicagoâs blues legacy in his being. This is a good record, and at times an exceptional record, absolutely nothing less than a rock band going for broke, a state of mind that seems to be too much to ask of most bands these days. By Doug Mosurock


(ROCKET REDUCER)
"If you let Vee Dee get drunk, they'll play an hour-long set. They're getting ready to put out a double LP on Criminal IQ--this is after dropping two drummers since their (fucking epic) debut LP, Furthur. I'm here to tell you that they've come back a better band. Nick has joined Plastic Crimewave Sound, Dan has a couple side projects (Wolfden!), and their latest drummer, 'Ryan' (ed) , is in M.O.T.O. Pretty good credentials, right?

This record ratchets up the psychedelia without going into too extensive jamminess. The songs are tight and catchy and feed yer fuckin' head. And Jesus Christ, I swear to god, Nick is the second coming of Fred "Sonic" Smith.
Get this while it's in print."