Album review by Marcus Dipollina
Popular music has had many evolutions over the years --from the beginning, popular music has always changed with the times. When talking about rock and roll or “rock music”, these evolutions are usually coupled to a scene or movement. These movements reflect the times that they were spawned in, but also the thoughts and feelings of the people within the movement. Today, the traditional image of a rock band, 4-5 people with guitars and loud amplifiers seems like ancient history. Like the Chevy small block V8 -- but like the small block Chevy, rock and roll has shown that even though its an old dog, it can still learn new tricks. That’s where our story begins... with one of the last big movements for the rock and roll band as we know it to be in our head: EMO.
The EMO scene had an explosion around the late 2000’s and the early 2010’s -- it’s history goes back way farther, but for our purposes 2010 is a great place to start. Bands like Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance and Jimmy Eat world were exploding in this latest movement of emotional rock and roll.
That’s the movement Stephine Lussier, band leader of Victim Or Victor grew up in. Lussier, who at this point is a southeastern CT music scene veteran, has always been a champion of this sound. Her stated influences are Good Charlotte, Say Anything, Motion City Soundtrack & Paramore.
Compare this to Choices, where sonically speaking there was a little “mud” if you will on some of the tunes -- Chaotic Flow is much more clear and articulate. Sometimes the mix does feel like it could use a little more depth, instruments do sound flat, however this does not inhibit the listening experience. Only hardcore audiophiles and people who listen to different mixes will really be bothered by this. If there was a final mix with more depth I think that would give everything more weight. My mix example is the band Title Fight specifically the rippers “Numb But I still Feel It” And “Shed”.
Anyone who writes songs will tell you that a mark of a good song should support the story that the lyrics will tell. As a lyricist, Lussier paints a lot of melancholy images -- images that deal with relationship troubles, as well as mental health. There is a good balance of creative metaphors and direct lyrics to get the point across without too much confusion. This album definitely sells itself as a fall album as the music and the lyrics come together to create images of fall days, warm blankets and a good cup of tea.
While Choices was a very solid effort, there is definitely a sense of growth on this record. On Choices you could tell that it was still Steph bringing in a few collaborators here and there -- because of this some of the arrangements feel thin. Chaotic Flow solves this problem by being way more band focused. You can tell that this band took their time and worked on their parts individually but then brought them together and worked on them as a unit. This is something small, however it can make a big difference in the recording process.
With all that has been said, Chaotic Flow is cohesive and unlike the title would suggest, has a good flow to it. Lussier and the crew have studied and have positioned themselves to follow in the footsteps of those of the EMO movement -- and I think they will gain acceptance.
CATCH THE SHOW
Friday May 23, 2025 @ Oasis Pub
LISTEN
That’s the movement Stephine Lussier, band leader of Victim Or Victor grew up in. Lussier, who at this point is a southeastern CT music scene veteran, has always been a champion of this sound. Her stated influences are Good Charlotte, Say Anything, Motion City Soundtrack & Paramore.
Chaotic Flow is not Lussier’s first release -- she, like many of us, has been writing and recording as early as high school. This is however her first release with a consistent band behind her. The band includes scene veterans Danny Fleet, Daniel Jackson, as well as Lussier’s close friend Connor Leblanc --who is the most recent addition.
Leading off with the track “Different Soles”, the band shows it’s cohesion. Fleet and Jackson are locked in as any rhythm section could be, while Leblanc adds classic rock soloing to fill out the arrangements. The overall effect on this is of a bigger and more impactful sound then previous releases, where Steph has been on an acoustic guitar in a singer songwriter style. Listening to some of the past releases, you sometimes feel like you're missing something -- not here. It’s also a plus that Lussier is leaning into more electric than acoustic, not that her acoustic playing is bad, it’s far from that. It’s again more about having a full sound and when the acoustic does make an appearance, it’s super impactful. Take the track “Concede” which opens with a lick that evokes the seminal hit "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins, and it gives a refreshing change of pace and bit of introspection.
Leading off with the track “Different Soles”, the band shows it’s cohesion. Fleet and Jackson are locked in as any rhythm section could be, while Leblanc adds classic rock soloing to fill out the arrangements. The overall effect on this is of a bigger and more impactful sound then previous releases, where Steph has been on an acoustic guitar in a singer songwriter style. Listening to some of the past releases, you sometimes feel like you're missing something -- not here. It’s also a plus that Lussier is leaning into more electric than acoustic, not that her acoustic playing is bad, it’s far from that. It’s again more about having a full sound and when the acoustic does make an appearance, it’s super impactful. Take the track “Concede” which opens with a lick that evokes the seminal hit "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins, and it gives a refreshing change of pace and bit of introspection.
Lussier’s greatest instrument however, is her voice -- its no surprise to anyone who has seen her perform or has had the chance to work with her. The addition of multiple harmonies on multiple tracks really accentuates the feelings that Steph is communicating through the lyrics. Sounding close to Hayley Williams of Paramore, but with more low end and grit.
Compared to Lussiser’s last release, (2019’s Choices, which is definitely more of a solo album than a full band offering), production on Chaotic Flow is a huge step up. On every track you can hear all the instruments clearly -- there are sometimes where things get lost, but it’s minimal. There is a forward push to the mix, but things are balanced well so there is not too much fighting. The overall effect is that this is a “professional” sounding album -- it sounds like the band is taking a big swing.
Compared to Lussiser’s last release, (2019’s Choices, which is definitely more of a solo album than a full band offering), production on Chaotic Flow is a huge step up. On every track you can hear all the instruments clearly -- there are sometimes where things get lost, but it’s minimal. There is a forward push to the mix, but things are balanced well so there is not too much fighting. The overall effect is that this is a “professional” sounding album -- it sounds like the band is taking a big swing.
Compare this to Choices, where sonically speaking there was a little “mud” if you will on some of the tunes -- Chaotic Flow is much more clear and articulate. Sometimes the mix does feel like it could use a little more depth, instruments do sound flat, however this does not inhibit the listening experience. Only hardcore audiophiles and people who listen to different mixes will really be bothered by this. If there was a final mix with more depth I think that would give everything more weight. My mix example is the band Title Fight specifically the rippers “Numb But I still Feel It” And “Shed”.
Anyone who writes songs will tell you that a mark of a good song should support the story that the lyrics will tell. As a lyricist, Lussier paints a lot of melancholy images -- images that deal with relationship troubles, as well as mental health. There is a good balance of creative metaphors and direct lyrics to get the point across without too much confusion. This album definitely sells itself as a fall album as the music and the lyrics come together to create images of fall days, warm blankets and a good cup of tea.
While Choices was a very solid effort, there is definitely a sense of growth on this record. On Choices you could tell that it was still Steph bringing in a few collaborators here and there -- because of this some of the arrangements feel thin. Chaotic Flow solves this problem by being way more band focused. You can tell that this band took their time and worked on their parts individually but then brought them together and worked on them as a unit. This is something small, however it can make a big difference in the recording process.
With all that has been said, Chaotic Flow is cohesive and unlike the title would suggest, has a good flow to it. Lussier and the crew have studied and have positioned themselves to follow in the footsteps of those of the EMO movement -- and I think they will gain acceptance.
CATCH THE SHOW
16 Bank Street - New London, CT
9pm / $10 / 21_+
w/ Bluepenny
LISTEN