Viet Cong (album)

Viet Cong
Studio album by Preoccupations
Released	January 20, 2015
Genre	Indie rock, post-punk, art rock
Length	37:04
Label	Jagjaguwar/Flemish Eye
Preoccupations chronology
Cassette (2013) Viet Cong (2015)

Viet Cong is the debut album by Canadian rock band Preoccupations, and the only album to be released under their original name, Viet Cong. It was released on January 20, 2015 by the Jagjaguwar and Flemish Eye record labels.^[1][2]

The first single from the album, "Continental Shelf", was released for streaming on October 15, 2014.^[3] The album also features a re-recorded version of a previous song, "Bunker Buster". The band embarked on a North American and European tour in support of the album.^[4]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Consequence of Sound	B–[7]
Exclaim!	9/10[8]
The Guardian	[9]
Mojo	[10]
NME	8/10[11]
Pitchfork Media	8.5/10[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Spin	8/10[14]
Uncut	7/10[15]

Upon its release, Viet Cong received mainly positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 77, based on 23 reviews, indicating "generally favourable reviews".^[5] Writing for Exclaim!, Cam Lindsay noted that "Viet Cong maintains the same shadowy, droning tones that haunted Cassette, only taking them deeper into the abyss".^[8]

Accolades

The album was a shortlisted nominee for the 2015 Polaris Music Prize.^[16]

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank
NME	NME's Albums of the Year 2015	2015	46[17]
Stereogum	The 50 Best Albums of 2015	2015	45[18]
Pitchfork	Pitchfork Readers' Poll Top 50 Albums	2015	18[19]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Newspaper Spoons"	3:02
2.	"Pointless Experience"	2:59
3.	"March of Progress"	6:19
4.	"Bunker Buster"	5:55
5.	"Continental Shelf"	3:20
6.	"Silhouettes"	4:12
7.	"Death"	11:17
Total length:		37:04

Personnel

Viet Cong

• Matt Flegel – bass guitar, vocals
• Mike Wallace – drums
• Scott Munro – guitar
• Daniel Christiansen – guitar

References

1. Minsker, Evan (October 15, 2014). "Viet Cong Announce Debut LP, Share "Continental Shelf", Announce Tour". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
2. Terry, Josh (October 15, 2014). "Viet Cong share new song "Continental Shelf" — listen". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
3. Kelly, Zach (October 15, 2014). "Viet Cong - "Continental Shelf"". Pitchfork. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
4. Hughes, Josiah (October 15, 2014). "Viet Cong Announce Self-Titled LP". Exclaim!. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
5. "Reviews for Viet Cong by Viet Cong". Metacritic. Retrieved January 15, 2015.
6. Deming, Mark. "Viet Cong – Viet Cong". AllMusic. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
7. Corcoran, Nina (January 15, 2015). "Viet Cong – Viet Cong". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 1, 2015.
8. Lindsay, Cam (January 19, 2015). "Viet Cong". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
9. Bakare, Lanre (January 29, 2015). "Viet Cong: Viet Cong review – ambitious experimental rock, with tunes". The Guardian. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
10. "Viet Cong: Viet Cong". Mojo (256): 100. March 2015.
11. Webb, Rob (January 14, 2015). "Viet Cong – 'Viet Cong'". NME. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
12. Cohen, Ian (January 22, 2015). "Viet Cong: Viet Cong". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
13. Mejia, Paula (January 26, 2015). "Viet Cong". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
14. Larson, Jeremy D. (January 20, 2015). "Review: Viet Cong Make Like the Last Post-Punks on Self-Titled Debut". Spin. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
15. "Viet Cong: Viet Cong". Uncut (215): 84. February 2015.
16. "Polaris Music Prize Announces 2015 Long List". Exclaim!, June 16, 2015.
17. "NME'S Albums of the Year 2015". nme.com. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
18. "The 50 Best Albums Of 2015". stereogum.com. 2015-12-01. Retrieved 2015-12-10.
19. "Readers' Poll Results 2015". pitchfork.com. 2016-01-05. Retrieved 2016-01-05.