Unique melodic twists and deeply moving, relatable but fresh stories and sounds – a classic rock set-up with an unpredictable sense of humanity and heart. At a time when music seems to have lost its realness and originality, Vinyl Floor keep the essence of interaction and artistry alive, with the evocative anthems and grooves of their brand new album Balancing Act.
Noting dreamy guitar-pop arrangements and deeper rock vocals, this project is loaded with lush harmonies and thoughtful concepts. The organic set-up is refreshing at this time in our musical history, and this includes beautiful riffs, refrains, changes in tempo and intensity, as well as a live vocal performances and backing vocals that feel expressive, accessible, and genuine. This much is clear form the poetry and timeless prowess of the opening song All Of This and More, an alternative but colourful, calming listen, with a depth that’s provocative, and a title and hook that are cleverly memorable.
The anthemic warmth rises further for the wonderfully indie, nineties rock uplift of an equally catchy I’m on the Upside, within which Vinyl Floor fully exercise their careful balancing of rock energy and singer-songwriter harmonies and intimacy. (The album title holds power in more ways than one.)
Thirteen tracks in full make up Balancing Act, with an eclectic but grounded musical identity at their core. Consider The Helping Hand, acoustic meets electronic production, with gentle vocal harmonies fusing something like The Beatles and Bowie, with longer-form expressions and imagery that are quick to recapture wandering minds.
The single Mr. Rubinstein is also an early highlight, with strings and acoustic guitars laying down an Elbow-esque sense of contemplative wonder and story. A fantastic song, which builds upon its own integrity and passion throughout, towards an immense and gorgeously harmonised crescendo.
Tell The World It Happened is haunting, poignant, hypnotic – piano and looping vocal statements presenting something that softly but suddenly stops you in your tracks. You want to listen more than once, a blending of darkness and light that’s intoxicating, with careful deeper vocals and backing traits that really showcase the breadth of understanding and organic musicianship that has carved out this album.
After this, the gentle acoustic warmth of an Americana-kissed Land of The Desert is beautifully placed, the music lighter but the concept still keeping those gears grinding as we fall further into the grip of these poems and ideas. Then there’s something cool and enchanting about the shoulder-swaying groove and Eastern melodic stylings of Back Of My Hand – a poignant topic, presented as an instrumental gem that lingers in the mind.
The brilliantly catchy acoustic pop-rock hook of Puppet Laureate is a stand out for its simplicity and bounce, its lyrical sharpness, and after this, Swan of Eileen Lake is something like lo-fi keys in waves of paired vocals and familiar classic storytelling; a thoughtful meeting of nostalgia and modern thought. We then get something softer still, almost folk-pop-like, as the alternative melody of Adelaide paints another emotive scene.
To rebuild momentum, the big-band arrangement of Less Dystopian Book confronts the rock and roll essence of story and sound, with a marching groove and droning vocals that present some of the album’s most topical lyrics of all. Then we get something melancholic and cinematic but still tuneful, optimistic, for Jacaranda Blossoms – another nineties indie-rock hook resolving an intriguing progression.
To finish, our title-track shines light on a dystopian to hopeful and admittedly complex, mysterious portral of life and the idea of there being ‘no faith between good and bad’. It’s a minimal written journey, and a stripped back musicality to match, but there’s something alternative, theatrical and dark about the back and forth, the concept, the rising intensity; not least of all this poignant, unignorable closing reflection…
“Some are born to sweet delight, Some are born to endless night.”
Featuring a handful of equally impressive musicians, such as Bebe Risenfors (Tom Waits, Elvis Costello) on wind instruments, and Christian Ellegaard (Danish Symphony Orchestra) on strings, this is music to cross the ages, to bring together generations and decades of historical creativity, in a fresh, interesting, and enjoyable way.
Balancing Act is conceptually focused, musically versatile, and authentically rooted in the ideas and togetherness of this talented, compelling band. Vinyl Floor’s abilities and intentions speak volumes, and this album is a timeless must for the playlists of 2026.
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