A Dance That Ended Too Soon

I first encountered Voxtrot while listening to the Smiths' radio on Pandora. Their song "The Start of Something" showed a surprising proficiency in creating an 80s jangle atmosphere with a modern indie pop structure which allotted the merit for the band to be placed in the same playlist as Moz and the gang. That song was from their first release, a 5-song EP in 2005, and it would be another two years until the band came out with their self-titled debut album. Tracks like "Kid Gloves" render the repressed romantic restlessness characteristic of Voxtrot's typical melodic and lyrical composition, which sounds like a page ripped from the diary of a dejected 20-something hipster.

Unfortunately, Voxtrot's fall from indie rockdom was as swift as its rise. After a number of disjointed single releases, lead singer Ramesh Srivastava announced the breakup of the band in 2010 and thereafter began a solo musical venture. As a result, their last recording, "Berlin, Without Return", can be considered the farewell to a journey which began simply as... the start of something. But with a line like "When I see you naked, I see more than the flesh" it's a shame that the music scene is indefinitely deprived of a band that can deliver the pensive and vulnerable poetry of those striving towards authentic love in an otherwise self-centered and relativistic world.

"Berlin, Without Return" by Voxtrot

Steady your ears,
Kelvin