TV Replaces the Radio

First it was radio, then American Bandstand, then MTV, then Dawson's Creek. Now if you're a band that wants a megahit, you gotta get your tune onto Grey's Anatomy. For that to happen, however, your music has to be polished and melodic but not too saccharine, interesting but not too...

March 29, 2007

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First it was radio, then American Bandstand, then MTV, then Dawson's Creek. Now if you're a band that wants a megahit, you gotta get your tune onto Grey's Anatomy. For that to happen, however, your music has to be polished and melodic but not too saccharine, interesting but not too edgy. A tinge of melancholy is vital too, as long as the whole shebang is uplifting in the end. That pretty much describes Vega 4, which, like Snow Patrol and the Fray before it, owes its breakout success to Anatomy's producers, who selected the quartet's "Life Is Beautiful" for inclusion on the show last November. On the band's recent debut, You and Others, Vega 4 locates the exact sonic midpoint between Coldplay and the Killers. Vocals soar dramatically, guitars ring prettily and occasionally play-bite, and new-wavey electronic textures crop up sporadically. It's all easy on the ears and calibrated for mass consumption. One imagines that the live show will be much the same. — Michael Alan Goldberg

Vega 4 performs Sunday, April 1, at the Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale. Tickets cost $12. Show starts at 8 p.m. Augustana is also on the bill. Visit www.cultureroom.net, or call 954-564-1074.

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