V.O. - Pictures (2025-remaster) (2005) [Hi-Res]

Boris Gronemberger is everywhere, but nowhere as much as in V.O and River Into Lake. Insiders of the Belgian indie scene already took notice of his undeniable talent through his multiple musical adventures. With surprising ease, Boris manages to remind us of Brian Wilson, Gastr del Sol, Sonic Youth or Hood while injecting in his compositions enough personality to constantly surprise and even bedazzle the unexpecting listener. Folky moments are followed up by a noisier kind of rock, spiced up with delicate doses of electronica. Here and there, V.O. offers some astonishing and magical little pop symphonies. The thirteen tracks of this album are celebrating demanding songwriting, in a way too seldom heard since Jim O'Rourke's Halfway to a threeway.