Vexation
The Mind. It Starts to Separate

I need something to lift my mood after a certain review, Vexation are next on the list, so lets see if they can achieve the impossible. ‘Educated Guess’ starts with a grinding riff and vocals that are not too dissimilar from Weezer. The mix is a bit hissy, but as soon as the song bursts into life, any slight recording defect goes out of the window. They almost seem heavier than they first hint at and you can tell at certain points that the vocalist is straining every last vein in his head to force the words out.

Vexation are very much in the grunge stlye, but not necessarily a carbon-copy of one particular band, more a mix of elements from many. It certainly does have something about it – you can tell that the lyrics in certain places are clearly meaningfully deep to the guy who’s singing them.

Well its slowly restoring my faith in humanity, I could almost muster a smile at the hordes of undead walking around the garden.

‘Eerie Sound of Snow’ has a real nice funky intro and grabs hold of your attention, especially with a riff that carries the song along nicely.

There are two sides to Vexation, the gentle side ( which probably helps old ladies across the street) and the other ( which would probably scream at them until they run headlong into oncoming traffic.) Its a good combination, as they fuse both sides well whilst still maintaining the integrity of the song. It doesn’t sound like they have tried to shoe-horn anything in, as it fits together well. At three minutes thirty in, the guys screamed vocals really add to the depth of the song.

‘Paris in Amsterdam’ starts like a pencil being shoved down your nose, it’s immediate and gives you no time to react. Again though, it works towards the verse and doesn’t sound out of place. Also by now, the recording is working in their favour, as it keeps a real bassy garage feel, which if anything makes the sound better. The high notes are still relatively crisp and doesn’t detract from the overall effect.

To finish off, ‘Depart’ is markedly different to the previous three tracks. Gentle guitar picking and soft vocals lead to a verse and chorus with a really nice backing vocal. They show that they are more than a one-trick pony and have some breadth to their song-writing skills.

Well, they managed to end my reviewing this Sunday on a high and although it is let down in places by the sound quality, it is really a very minor point compared to all the positives. It manages to convince you that these guys are very serious about what they do and that they put their all into it.

I look forward to a longer CD which will hopefully show off some more of their songs.