Vaux's latest 'Plague Music' a testament to hardcore musical roots

By James Mouritsen

Album review: Vaux, Plague Music, Equal Vision Records, 2004

November 20, 2004 | Ever since being picked up by Volcom Entertainment the Denver sextet Vaux has developed quite a broad and devout fan base. For the last year one tour's end has blurred into another's beginning as they promoted their first full-length release, There Must be Some Way to Stop Them (2003). In addition to all of the touring, Vaux was negotiating a record deal with the major label, Atlantic Records. Somewhere, hidden in the folds of this intense schedule, the band found time to record a short five-song EP with the underground Indie Rock label Equal Vision Records. This release is a transition for the band from the loose underground music world into the big time. It is a last statement about what they are about, a tribute to where they got their start, and a testament that they will not change but will progress.

Plague Music keeps with the band's hardcore roots. Three drop-D tuned guitars pound thickly distorted chords into a whirlwind of noise where they meet deep bass, haunting keyboard, and screeching vocals. This sea of intensity is then driven by energetic beats and intense drumming. It is like an impenetrable wall of sound. But just when the tension has reached its maximum capacity the band breaks it and they bring their musical ideas into unison and clarity. This idea of tension and release is nothing new, Tchaikovsky used it very well, but it is somewhat lacking in today's world of catchy pop themes that go nowhere. The members of Vaux seem to understand the development of a musical idea through intricacies, variations, created confusion, and a unifying moment of epiphany. They are quite able to use very melodic lines and ideas to balance out the angry intensity.

The first track, Celibate Good Times, gets the album started with an up-tempo, energetic intro. It reminds listeners of the Vaux style while promising something new to come. Then RAID! forces the mood into a more intense atmosphere. The song breaks, however, into a quiet bridge repeating the songs theme "I know they're coming for you" in a gradual crescendo until it breaks into a scream with added zest. The third track, Dearest Darkest betrays roots and inspiration of hard-core Indie bands like The Blood Brothers with its blunt beats and call-and-response screaming. The fourth song, Sex Will Happen Tonight, is a calm sea. This song is like the eye of the storm with arpeggiated synth on an organ/accordion effect and harmonized vocal lines. This song leads into the last song and title track Plague Music. This is perhaps the most hardcore song on the album, adding a searing end. It is in a waltzy time signature of 3/4 that sometimes breaks into a march-like beat, breaking the confusion of the moment. The song breaks into another more peaceful bridge that gradually declines into an unsure ending of "nobody's famous anymore."

The album is perfectly structured to link There Must Be Some Way to Stop Them to whatever comes next on Atlantic Records. Not only do the songs illustrate a coherent use of tension and release, but the album as a whole incorporates this feel. The first song reminds us of the last album and the last song points to something new to come. The songs between these show a progression of style and musical understanding. Vaux knows just how to tease their fans with this. Anyone who thought they were going to pass up the corporate release of a "sell-out" band will be born again with this short taste of the band's direction and vision.

NW
MS