Here’s the review, by Chall Gray:
Out of the Shadows: A Review of Visqueen at the Rocket Club
Rachel Flotard prefers direct eye contact and engagement from the very beginning of a conversation. Her band Visqueen, for which she plays guitar and sings, is gaining a substantial amount of national attention for their latest cd, Message to Garcia, and they recently stopped in Asheville for a show at the Rocket Club.
Flotard, who is petite with a penetrating gaze and striking shock of red hair, often draws comparisons to Neko Case—in fact she often tours and records as part of Case’s band and Case sings backup on several songs on Message to Garcia—but, as was evident only moments into Visqueen’s soundcheck at the Rocket Club, her voice deserves to lead.
“It’s just amazing that we’re even here,” she said, smiling. And it is. Message to Garcia was Visqueen’s first record in more than six years—long enough for even a well-known band (which Visqueen surely wasn’t) to drop off nearly everyone’s radar. In 2002 Flotard’s father, George, who had spent more than four decades working as a steamfitter in Hell’s Kitchen, learned that he had cancer and soon thereafter moved from his home in New Jersey to Seattle, to live with Rachel. “It wasn’t much of a choice,” she explained, “I never thought twice about putting my music career on hold, and it was amazing to have that time with him.” During the six years that her father lived with her Flotard continued to write and performed occasional gigs with Neko Case, but Visqueen effectively languished. Following his death, in 2008, unsure how to cope or move forward, she went almost directly into the studio. Message to Garcia (which is named after an Elbert Hubbard book of the same title) alternates between explicit engagement and oblique acknowledgement of grief, but maintains a hopeful bent throughout. “That’s just the way I am, I can’t help but to try and look at the brighter side of things,” she responded, when asked about songwriting. “When the album was finished and about to come out I hired a publicist and she asked what I wanted to say about it. I said ‘You know what, just tell the truth, tell people why I haven’t made an album in so long, tell them about my dad.’ It just seemed like the most honest thing to do.”
Playing as a four-piece with Flotard backed by a bassist, drummer and cellist, Visqueen opened with “Hand Me Down,” one of their catchiest tunes, an energetic three-minute rocker. Flotard’s compositions tend toward straightforward rock and roll and a natural comparison is Liz Phair, although Phair’s voice doesn’t have the range or warmth of Flotard’s. Despite a painful lack of attendance—I counted 17 people at the show—the band clearly gave it their all, playing for upwards of an hour in the lingering humidity. Given the attendance, it’s almost certain that you missed Visqueen’s show, but I would recommend picking up Message to Garcia, one of the best new releases out there to put on, roll down the windows, and turn up the volume.
– Chall Gray is a producer and freelance writer based in Asheville.