T V L P A’s “WALK WITH ME” Album Review

This one was a given, right?

Hailing from Richmond, VA, T V L P A are undeniably a force to be reckoned with. Formed in 2018 and becoming most active around 2019, the trio began as a duo with guitarist/vocalist Will Fisher (AKA Fire @ Will Photography) and drummer/added noisist Hunter Johnson, but would soon incorporate the likes of another sonic experimenter, Ethan Durham, on the rumble stick. (That’s ”bass,” for all you normie types)

Recently I was allotted the pleasure of interviewing them on the most recent livecast of Channel 213, but now I wanted to write as much of a formal review as possible on the album, having listened to it a few times now and figured out what to say about it. So let’s dig right in, shall we?

(Photos of band by Joey Wharton from album release show at The Camel in Richmond, VA 4/10/22)

The album opens up with a no-punches-pulled track, “The Water,” which is honestly a personal favorite. Having seen the band live myself many times prior to making this post, it never fails to send me goosebumps as soon as that first guitar chord starts hitting alongside the drums and bass, pounding like an anxious heart running from a stalking killer in the woods, setting the tone for an artistic demise of sorts. It definitely works as a great opening track and almost gives the listener a full idea of what they’ve just gotten into…only it doesn’t. If you thought you were just gonna get a mathy, angry, distorted band from start to finish, with all the elements of what a typical noise rock, post-hardcore, punky band with harsh vocals has to offer? You are in for it…

(Photos of band by Joey Wharton from album release show at The Camel in Richmond, VA 4/10/22)

The next track, ”The Portal, Pt. 1,” completely destroys this, or at least enough to tell you there’s more going on here than what you may have previously assumed. Beautiful, ambient, decadent melodies, bellowing screams, and rollercoaster-like twists, turns, and ups and downs on pacing all reflect an abstract, chaotic, yet ethereal sort of realm carefully crafted and converted into audio format for the human ear to HOPEFULLY make some sense of. This carries on for the rest of the album, where heavier, noisier, and more chaotic tracks such as “The Eyes“ and “As Above, So Below“ make you want to break everything around you in your office cubicle while you type up that report your boss needed 2 days ago furiously, these tracks aiding your adrenaline rush.

Then we get something more tear-jerkingly beautiful, with songs like “The Portal, Pt. 2” transcending you from this world to the next with its intro, featuring clean vocals and reverby melodies that just make you want to keep listening right until you’re punched in the face again by total grindy goodness towards the end. This track in particular gave me Ghost Bath vibes, though the band has admitted a top inspiration for them comes from the likes of the now-shamed band (mostly just Alexis, and hey, Alexis, if you reading this? FUCK YOU AND ANYONE WHO LOOKS LIKE YOU!) Daughters, but there’s a fine collection of influences here that come to mind. Apart from the Ghosty Bath Bois, I feel like these guys basically put on a bunch of Bambara, Deafheaven, Swans, Street Sects, and maybe some mewithoutYou and the grand result was this, an amalgamation of terror and enchantment, and even though they do claim it to be a source of inspiration to this work directly (probably obvious given the lyrical content and song titles, not to mention album name), this might as well be their “Dark Side of the Moon,” but for Dave Lynch’s Twin Peaks series…because every song matches that sort of vibe all too well.

Certainly, over the years we’ve had a lot of dedications to Dave Lynch and Twin Peaks in particular. Lots to digest, perhaps even over-saturating at this point. So what sets T V L P A apart from anyone else doing anything like this or their influences? For me personally, it’s how they pull it all off. It’s how they have a trademark sound of their own in their mix. Perhaps that‘s thanks to Kyle Atkins at Greyskull Studio for the method of tracking the album…or maybe even Joey Woodard of Fisher King Records’ production value that really defines the finesse in their work? But, at any rate, the fact that they have a sound that fairly easily could blend with bands in shoegaze, alternative rock, metal, hardcore, punk, death metal, black metal, or even indie pop kid’s interests and bands of those calibers, is something I appreciate immensely about them. A band that can pair well on any bill and experiments unapologetically is always one with my respect.

Is “WALK WITH ME” the magnum opus of 2022? Maybe. Maybe not. For a debut release, the album has a strong first half, and honestly doesn’t drop too hard on the second. The closing track, “The Sycamore,” seems to be a favorite, and understandably so, always a great closer to their live show and is no exception to that by closing the album. A beautiful funeral, of sorts, or at least a song I’d like played at mine. Even though the “heaviness” grows a bit more mild (sorry metalheads, guess you’ll have to cry to some clean, shoegazey, emotional goodness provided by Will Fisher toward the end of the album!!!) the power and originality don’t seem to dither too much with it. In fact, I think it’s better that T V L P A took this approach. Not knowing what’s next is what makes artsier music much more appealing. Not doing what’s expected seems to be a theme with T V L P A to a degree and I hope they continue that with future releases.

If “WALK WITH ME” is any glimpse into what’s coming next for the band? There’s plenty of potential there. My only hope is that we get more sonic exploration in future releases, would love to see how much further outside the box these fellas can go. But who am I to set a standard on creativity, right?!

Anyway, TL;DR: This album sucks. I hated it. Definitely music for mf’ers who still shop at Hot Topic and close the fridge door with their hips. SIKE! But in all seriousness, if you like Dave Lynch, Twin Peaks, ”mystery,” and happen to be into hardcore, shoegaze, noise, or anything loud? You’ll probably like this album. If you like breakdowns and blast beats and constant angry yelling, you’ll like one half of this album. Either way, all 10 tracks of it are available for streaming on Spotify and other platforms and I implore you to listen and argue with me on this! Follow their Linktree to find more on T V L P A here: https://linktr.ee/tvlparva

Overall score: 9/10. Needs more cowbell.