Alphabet Pony is an online magazine and culture blog.
Listening to The Vasco Era‘s new self titled album is like listening to a beautiful mess. Right from opening track Na Na Na Na, the guitars are screaming, Ted O’Neil’s bass is driving and drummer Michael Fitzgerald’s crashing cymbals punctuate a rudeness into the mix. The intention is clear.
Rewind to 2010 and after two albums and the entirety of his adult-life-so-far, guitarist/vocalist Sid O’Neil up and left the band and moved to Queensland to begin social work. The problem was he found himself writing songs about moving on and leaving past demons behind. Suddenly rejuvenated, Sid reconvened with his band mates and the newly invigorated trio entered Melbourne’s Sound Park Studios to begin work on album number three.
Produced by Steve Schram and cut live, the The Vasco Era never lets up from start to finish, with Sid O’Neil’s distinct howl at the forefront. This album is honest and sincere, but also witty (“I know what they’ll say, ‘Why is a naturopath smoking rolled up cigarettes’” – Avatar Blues). Lyrically the album is largely focused on letting go of the past and it sounds like a band genuinely enjoying this process – see Rock And Roll Is The Only Thing That Makes Me Feel Good.
First single Child Bearing Hips is a real feature and an electrifying bridge between the The Vasco Era of old and new. The ambience and honesty of Chemicals Run Out might just be the greatest moment of this album, while Every Boy Is The Same is surely a single in waiting.
Self titled albums are often a truthful embodiment of an owned sound; here lies a space where The Vasco Era may be found. - David Noordhoff
This article is taken from the November issue of Alphabet Pony. For more news, fashion, music and design, read it online here!