Press
"It’s hard to doubt the sincerity of the Michigan City Vandals, who proudly boast of being “post-ironic” and trumpet the slogan “The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.” Rollicking, optimistic and relentlessly tuneful, the Vandals' indie-pop songs take aim at Gen Y apathy and attempt to inspire it to action "
"The Michigan City Vandals, play with an infectious sound similar to Veruca Salt or a harder version of Pretty Girls Make Graves. It's Laurent's presence -- strong, effusive and magnetic -- that commands attention in the band's music and even on the phone. The singer oozes charisma and most importantly, perspective."
"The naivety of Julee Laurent may have gotten the better of her, but it's not slowing her down much. Laurent's menacing vocals with lyrics about her annoyance with the country's obsession with fame and a few choice words for pharmaceutical companies show her desire to "unite and move people forward."
"The band presents a dark pop-rock sound reminiscent of the indie rock from the early '90s and artists such as Juliana Hatfield, The Breeders and Throwing Muses. Laurent sings with a sincere sense of desperation in her voice, to be sure, but her delivery also contains a measure of glee in its energy that borders on absurdist humor."
'Beta is Dead' Blog
As someone who was heavily involved in the West Michigan music scene for nearly ten years believe me when I say that the Michigan City Vandals are one of the best acts to ever emerge from it. Hell, I would say that they would be one of the better acts to come from the state of Michigan.
So Many Mp3's Review of 'Back to Life'
"We have reviewed a good number of albums and tracks in the last few weeks, but this CD has been making the rounds in our office for a good month now. If you can listen to a song like “Say It To My Face” and not be genuinely pumped up when Julee’s vocals climb to a scream and this three piece band rocks so hard they sound like a band that has twice as many members, than it might be a good time to check your pulse. And then to be guided back down to Earth so gently by a song like “Spinning” is exactly why we got into this music gig in the first place. This album is raw emotion. There is a distinguishable line in the sand between people who make music because they eat and bleed music, and people who make music because it buys them boats and planes. This music seeps from their pours, and we have not gotten a more raw and rocking album in we don’t know how long, but we do know in hearing this now, that it has been too long."
World Music
Really good guitar based rock music , a good voice and a nice video clip. Really love this new release from this February from MCV.
