Album Review: Vessel ‘Nostalgia’
Getting bored of the ‘lather, rinse, repeat’ of today’s music? Looking for something a bit more experimental to listen to? Why not give Vessel a go!? The artist’s second EP, ‘Nostalgia’, is a hybrid of rock genres like psychedelic, prog, doom and stoner. It’s a cool experiment that would be the perfect accompaniment to a lonesome drive down the highway. Curious? You should be!
Jordan Forster, the face behind the sound, gets the help of friends and session players to create an extravaganza of different instruments and sounds in his work. Based in Melbourne, this will be the first release from the project in four years. So is a tour on the cards after this one? “I have yet to hit the stage, but may do so in 2017,” Forster says.
‘Nostalgia’ opens with heavy psychedelic piece The Dreaming, which eerily leads itself into a heavy, drone-like guitar tone with a sprinkle of doom. The second longest song of the album at over seven minutes, it’s given plenty of time to introduce itself and progress to a soft vocal section over slow, groove-worthy tunes. Classic electric guitar parts give the song some extra pep. As it speeds up towards the end and the guitars become sharper, you might just feel like you’ve taken a step back thirty years into rock’s golden age.
Skullkisser ups the ante with a beat that feels a little like classic Sabbath. That iconic rock n’ roll, ‘wah wah’-toned electric guitar tone is a heavy feature here and raw, uncensored vocals give the song a classic feel. However, as the song continues, the vocals get higher and more glam in a display that would give young Axl Rose a run for his money! The track plays with a motif that might sometimes feel sleepy, but there’s no doubt the riffs and guitar tones are classic rock done right.
Next up is the title track Nostalgia, giving us a little more of a grungey, ‘I don’t give a f***’ attitude than the last two songs. There’s lots of snare, lots of guitar layers, and heavy, loud vocals. The shortest song on the album, Nostalgia starts quickly and ends sharply in a rebellious snap. And once again, the classic electric guitar acrobatics are in there if you listen closely enough.
Aurora begins with a clean, Southern guitar tone echoing throughout the song. It’s slower than the other tracks, even almost ballad-like, but it’s still distinctly a rock song. Smooth vocals float over the crispy guitar tones while the chorus fills itself with warm harmonies. Somehow, there’s even a hint of post-punk in the clean and moody structure! If one thing’s clear by now, it’s that Vessel know how to mix genres and remind us how diverse rock music really is.
At almost thirteen minutes long Pyramids is the last song on the album, and for a dessert track it tastes pretty good! It starts with sterile tones but these don’t last long as the song evolves into a sludgy, slow, unmistakeably heavy song with clean, strong vocals. Just like the first song, it feels like there’s a hint of doom in this one. As it progresses through a steady, psychedelic-inspired heavy section, it slowly gets faster, thrashier and more energetic. Don’t expect this to last too long, though! As a true closing song, Pyramids once again slows down, with high-pitched, drone-like guitars sandwiching the rest of the instruments.
This EP feels like an experimentation with all genres under the tab ‘rock’, taking the listener from classic to psychedelic, to heavy, to grungy, and plenty of genres in between. The album can sometimes feel a little sleepy, but perhaps this just makes it extra deserving of the label stoner rock.
Vessel is evolving to be a truly unique project with a style of writing that can best be described as addictive. In our opinion there’s still some refinement to come, but we’re happy to be along for the ride. Listen to the album below!
