#4. VHS Collection - Sign
VHS Collection seem to be one of those bands that your trendy indie friends know about. They aren't on any major labels, aren't being featured on any huge tours, and certainly haven't seen any airplay on any of the Top 40 stations near me. What the band did do is spend a few years building up a cult following in the synth-pop communities and getting their songs onto club playlists and percolated up enough interest that when it was finally time to release a record, they were able to grab a couple of decent producers and embark on a small tour across the US. Everything I've read on them seems to lean towards them wanting to stay a smaller, independent artist who just makes catchy music.
It's always interesting how we access media. I often write about when I first heard a song, or how I found a certain band. Amusingly, all I did to find New York's VHS Collection is take my daily listening playlist on Spotify and use the "create similar playlist" function back in January. I wanted to see what Spotify thought would be a good "companion" playlist, if you will. I figured, at the very least I'd listen to what was "similar" so what I already listened to on a daily basis. The list had a lot of songs I knew, a few songs that were already on some of my other playlists, and several others from bands I hadn't explored. To be 100% honest, the only one that was new to me that really stuck was "Sign".
The real story of "Sign" happened a few days later when it came back on while I was driving to a different store to fill in for a day. The moment the chorus hit me, I knew I was hooked. I played the song over and over and over again; basically the entire drive to that store was just me and "Sign". The song's peculiar vocoder opening almost caused me to turn it off, but I was intrigued. The moment the drum kicks in it's almost impossible to pass the song off as a momentary glitch in your mind. The synths pulse through you, and the lyrics get progressively better. With each utterance of "just give me a sign" I would find myself stronger. It was an amazing feeling listening to it over and over and over again. The truth about 2019 is that it was a 3 song race most of the year, with "Sign" hovering near the top most of the spring. It's a huge, massive #4; as big as "Check My Brain" in '09 or "All Of Nothing" from 2017 were, but in the end there were 3 songs that were a significant jump better.
What will they be? Stay tuned!
Favorite Line: "If we've got something to say, then now is the time. Just give me a sign"
Title: Sign
Artist: VHS Collection
Album: Retrofuturism
Previous #4s
2018: Curse of Cassandra - Re-Bind (Retro Binding Mix)
2017: The Birthday Massacre - All of Nothing
2016: Graceful Closure - Choices
2015: Jason Derulo - Want To Want Me
2014: Eye of the Enemy - The Shift
2013: New Politics - a) Harlem; b) Goodbye Copenhagen
2012: Garbage - Beloved Freak
2011: Matt Nathanson - Kiss Quick
2010: The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio
2009: Alice in Chains - Check My Brain
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