The Viennese School spins a histrionic tale in his roots revivalist triumph, Dr. Irving

There is your average indie rock nostalgic peddler, and then there’s the Boston-based originator, The Viennese School, with their hauntingly archaic reinventions of American roots, folk, and gospel.

Their self-titled debut LP, featuring the standout single, Dr. Irving, tells the parallel stories of an army doctor, their brother soldier and the demise of a student found beneath a frozen river. You’re pulled into the narrative as much as the Avant Garde soundscape, featuring spacey psychedelic synthetics, old-school crooned vocals, blues rock solos and almost pornographically warm saturated analog tones.

Something is evidently in the Bostonian water if it bred The Viennese School as well as Amanda Palmer, who runs in the same histrionic direction as the artful innovator. What Ryan Murphy is to the small screen, The Viennese School evidently is to the airwaves. We’re officially obsessed.

Dr. Irving is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast