Vinny - Olas De Sexo (1983, Eat)

So, what on Earth compelled my blind purchase of an album with a cringy, Red Hot Chili Peppers-esque title such as this?  Best I can remember it must have been the pedigree of the label Vinny were signed to, Eat Records, an imprint also responsible for the likes of Human Sexual Response and Men & Volts, even though I've never been a huge proponent of either.  Much akin to HSR, this Ralph Fatello-fronted quartet were also stationed in Boston, though the band's intermittent finagling with reggae-lite textures suggests anything but. In fact there are few consistent throughlines operating amidst Olas.... but there are some inviting snyth pop ventures like "I Never Saw You" and "Letting Go of Love" that satisfy on the same vector as say early Wang Chung, Blanket of Secrecy and even say a more pedestrian incarnation of Japan. Vinny were regrettably not the innovators I was vaguely hoping for, but the Caribbean seasoning flavoring subtropical-leaning forays "Los Condos" and "Drums of Passion" are a nice change of pace, so long as you're willing to let your guard down for a few hedonistic minutes.  And if MTV-friendly power pop (a la, the kind of no-name one-offs that aired in the wee-hours of the morning) is your bag "Flexible" and "We Almost Made It" certainly lend some appeal as well.  

01. Waves

02. I Never Saw You

03. Letting Go of Love

04. False Alarms

05. Los Condos

06. Drums of Passion

07. Flexible

08. We Almost made It

09. Why Can't You Say Love?

10. Here's Where I Get Off

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