“Early on, I asked myself ‘Do I want to make records for one group of people, or do I want to write songs for the world?’” That was the question that haunted Craig Pfunder, guitarist, vocalist and primary songwriter for VHS OR BETA, during the creation of the band’s new album, Bring On The Comets, set for release on August 28, 2007. One listen to the ambitious, yet almost defiantly catchy, material on Comets… proves once and for all that, in this case, the world won. Then again, with each successive release VHS OR BETA can always be depended on to break stylistic boundaries. With Bring On The Comets, however, the group Blender heralded as one of rock’s “Best New Bands” and Rolling Stone named an “Artist to Watch” makes its boldest moves yet. “Through the course of being a band we’ve experimented with a lot of different sounds,” Pfunder explains. “But this record is about making a statement as far as us freeing ourselves any musical history we’ve had in our past.”

Formed in 1997 in the indie-rock hotbed that is Louisville, Kentucky (home to indie legends like Squirrel Bait to Slint), VHS OR BETA—today a trio comprising core members Pfunder, bassist Mark Palgy and drummer Mark Guidry—initially began via an obsession with the indie noise-rock of the late-‘90s era. “Skin Graft records, West Coast noise, the Northeast thing with bands like Arab On Radar, the Chicago thing with U.S. Maple, Japanese noisecore like Melt Banana, and of course Sonic Youth,” Craig notes, listing their nascent influences. Soon enough, the band, always on the lookout for vital sounds, began mutating its sonics towards an electronic/organic groove hybrid. “The reviews then called us ‘Kraftwerk meets Gang of Four,’” he laughs. “I mean, every band sounds like that now.” VHS OR BETA’s breakthrough 2002 release, the Le Funk e.p., proved equally ahead of its time—Daft Punk-style French disco-house channeled via a hungry live-instrument attack. Meanwhile, their acclaimed next effort, the 2004 album Night On Fire, vividly infused club rhythms with ‘80s-style hookcraft a la Depeche Mode and Echo and the Bunnymen before anyone had ever heard of The Killers. “We’re always either a few years ahead of the curve for the trends, or too late,” Pfunder jokes.

With Bring On The Comets, however, VHS OR BETA proves right on time: instead of yea obviously- if Ibeing pinned to a specific genre or era, it captures instead a populist sensibility all its own. “We’ve really focused on songwriting—on creating pop songs in a time when pop has been watered down,” Pfunder says. “I wanted to write a record with huge catch and melody, but also something more. It’s the most profound statement we’ve done as a band.” The next-level results on Comets… demonstrate VHS OR BETA’s new aspirations in both sonics and lyrics. The album’s darker shadings reveal themselves on the apocalyptic title track and on “Burn It All Down,” a slice of danceable fury that suggests New Order remixing the Clash’s “London Calling.” “Burn It All Down”’s potentially controversial lyrics—“We’ll burn the flags, burn the house, burn the churches—burn it all down!” chants the song’s infectious, angry chorus—reveal VHS OR BETA at their most pointed. “I asked the band early on does this scare you? But this is music—it’s about expression,” Pfunder explains. “It’s just a small personal statement about what is going on in the world. Defiance, loss of love and life—those are just themes percolating constantly all around us today. I mean, if we all went down in a hail of comets-that could be a beautiful thing in a weird way

And while surprises are abound on Comets…, VHS OR BETA still haven’t forgotten their DJ-driven beginnings—a twelve-inch of “Burn It All Down” will be released in advance of the album with an array of underground club mixes; still, with a revitalized, expanded attack, the band found a new life spinning outside the disco ball they couldn’t ignore. In order to assist them bring a different life to “Burn It All Down,” they employed the help of two of the hottest French contributors to House music today. First, the renowned Fred Falke, who since the late 90’s (in collaboration with Alan Brake)has been production work and remixes for the likes of Goldfrapp, Kelis or Jamiroquai. Next in line the fresh-faced Surkin, who though looks about 14 (in reality 21) has the skill and accomplishments that make his work seem that of a seasoned veteran- (work includes collaboration with bands such as Klaxons, Boys Noize , and Chromeo). If you have not heard of Surkin yet- wake up! Lastly, the Aussie trio Midnight Juggernauts who’ve worked on tracks for !!! (chk chk chk), The Presets, and Dragonette lend their talents as well.. Not only does VHS or Beta do right by their own song, in accordance with their tradition-the “Burn It All Down,” remixes are yet another example of how they only perpetuate the proliferation of all that is ahead of the curb. “Our love of and background in dance music is so strong, but here we switched gears and let the band be the band. We haven’t abandoned our roots—we’ve just opened our minds to new things”. Mission thus far accomplished.