Viva le Vox – “Dirt for Sale”

Released in 2012, Dirt for Sale captures the incredibly unique, Frankenstein-like sound of South Florida’s Viva le Vox. What makes this album such a standout is the band’s ability to seamlessly blend the aggressive energy of punk rock with the eccentricities of ragtime, blues, and jazz. Critics have compared their frenetic, theatrical delivery to the gypsy-punk stylings of Gogol Bordello, while noting that the band sometimes sounds like a Dixieland jazz ensemble playing a high-speed funeral procession. To achieve this stripped-down, raw aesthetic, percussionist Antoine Dukes actually ditched the traditional drum kit in favor of bongos, saws, and whatever else he could get his hands on. The record spans eleven tracks of joyful bitter-sweetness, culminating in the ambitious closer Hope Tank, which masterfully shifts through multiple tempos and melodic styles. It is a delightfully dark, oddball record that pushes the outer edges of imagination and redefines what roots-influenced punk can be.

Track Listing:

1 Cardiovascular & Otherwise 3:47
2 Shake Yer Bones 4:33
3 Bloodstains & Bumholes 6:09
4 Perilous State 3:56
5 If Yer Feeling Able 6:11
6 Confessions of a Masochist 3:53
7 Smithereens 5:24
8 Walking Dead Man’s Stomp 4:56
9 Dirty Old Window 4:59
10 Rhythm in the Dirt 4:56
11 Hope Tank 6:50