Vasco Era, The - Lucille (Album)
» The Vasco Era & Papa Vs Pretty Tour - September 21, 2011
» The Vasco Era - Karova Lounge, VIC - December 18, 2010
» The Vasco Era - GPO, QLD - December 3, 2010
» The Vasco Era - Blues and Rocks by the Seaside - May 1, 2007
» When We All Lost It, The Vasco Era brought it on back - November 6, 2006
» The Vasco Era - Edinburgh Castle Hotel, SA - December 16, 2010
» The Vasco Era - Annandale Hotel, The, NSW - November 20, 2010
Before talking about Lucille, the sophomore album for Apollo Bay heroes and “Brian Molko’s new favourite Aussie band”, let me first touch on my experience with The Vasco Era– an experience that, without doubt, is centred in the live realm.
It was the launch of their debut, Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside, at the Corner Hotel. Little Red had finished doo-wopping their way through the main support slot and the sold out crowd was beginning to get restless.
The band appeared. The volume skyrocketed. The mosh pit heaved. Sid screeched, Ted thrashed and Michael belted his skins so hard he had to stand to do so.
This was a band that was so ridiculously made for the live scene.
Since that launch I’ve seen the band many times. The music has shifted, the performance has changed and the crowd doesn’t seem to mosh as much as they did (not that long ago).
Enter Lucille - This is, after all, an album review.
You notice the fact the moment Lucille hits your stereo: The Vasco Era have reassessed themselves and where they want to be. Hell, Sid O’Neil’s probably reassessed this throat and how he wants that to be in a few years time. Gone is the screaming and much of the grunt; the gritty blues of ‘Kingswood’ and the Miles EP a distant memory. This is a new Vasco Era.
You may have thought you’d never hear it from the guitar/bass/drums combo, but opening track ‘Not Stuck Here’ is driven by piano, and builds to be one of the best numbers on Lucille. It’s a real story in itself, musically as much as lyrically, but, as it turns out, the whole album is a story.
In fact, that’s the point of this second release. It’s not a collection of tracks that can easily be separated. It’s a collection - ten numbers that tell the story of Lucille, a stripper, and Sam, her conservative partner. And don’t think you won’t notice this.
A richer record than their last, the listener actually gets to here Sid sing, not scream. The Vasco Era wants the listener to know what’s going on this time around and not just mosh. And to its credit, this has led to an instrumentally grander sound overall as well.
There’s plenty of variety here, too. The acoustically calming ‘Never Longed For Nothing’ (which, in fact, is all about longing) contrasts well against heavier, scream-introduced and rollicking ‘Casino’.
The end of the album showcases some of The Vasco Era’s finest moments thus far, with the sure fire festival anthem ‘I Am The Chosen Vessel’ belting out before ‘They’ve Already Won’ – a track in a similar vein that’s pointing the band to the grander acknowledgement they should receive – finishes things off nicely.
This is certainly an album to get your hands on and listen to all the way through. Whilst tracks like the single ‘For No One’ work well on their lonesome, it really is a pleasure to listen to Lucille in its entirety. And one closing bit of advice: get yourself to their album launch – they may have changed but they’re still a local asset.
