Higher Ground
By MATT DEGEN
The Orange County Register
Sunday July 27, 2003

The Violet Burning, "This is the Moment" (Northern)

I usually don't fully embrace an album until it's taken at least a couple of spins in the CD player. This is especially true when the group's music is relatively foreign to me. Not so here. "This is the Moment" is one of the best pieces of ear candy I've tasted in months.

Lead singer Michael Pritzl, who has been fronting Orange County's The Violet Burning for more than a decade, has created an album that bleeds with emotion.

Longing. Hope. Faith. Passion. All built around beautiful sounds comparable with the Cure and New Order, but never lacking their own unique feel.

Sometimes complex, yet never so much as to put listeners off. "Lovesick," "Radio Jesus Superstar" and "The Only One" could - should - all be playing on mainstream radio. They probably won't be, at least not here in the States (though VB has found some such success in Europe). And that's a shame, because this album is amazing.