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Vassals - Halogen Days EP

Halogen Days is an EP by New York's Vassals, and its four tracks of slow and considered musical, which will encourage you to reflect on your life, just through virtue of its thoughtful composition and relaxed pace. 

Opener 'Sea Spell' trundles along at a walking pace as distant vocals and pulsating guitars dance with shimmering percussion, distorted guitars at the end cut through the sense of wonder and nostalgia, paving the way for 'Moonless'. The second track quickly shifts from a muted number to an assured and raucous anthem, with those distorted guitar licks once again adding a welcome sense of flair to the dying moments. 

With minimal and generally quiet lyrics, 'SoHo' feels primarily like an instrumental number full of sass. Stabbing and soaring guitars create celebratory landscapes, with the dynamic prowess of famed post-rock outfits, something that 'Ghostwood' mirrors. Closing this short taste in progression style, the track escalates through a handful of atmospheres before proceeds end abruptly. 

With only four tracks Halogen Days doesn't have much scope to introduce Vassals, but it does provide a welcome taste of the band's intentions and potential. If you like intriguing and dynamic music with a focus on pace and introspection, then perhaps this band could be the flavour for you. 

Halogen Days is available from iTunes and Bandcamp

Alburn - a l b u r n

Rocking sweaty rooms around the UK for several years now, Glaswegian quartet Alburn have finally released their (self-titled) debut, and it's a logical progression from the emotive rock music on which they've built their reputation. 

Starting in the same way as preceding EP Mouthful of Glass, the guitars start with the distortion from the outset, and there's little respite from them or the impassioned vocal deliveries throughout the record's duration. Whilst the band's brand of rock isn't groundbreaking, it does touch an exciting strike of vitality with its raw edges and unrestrained delivery. 

'Make You Mine' through 'Green Saloon' set that bar of high octane music, with some subdued passages for dynamic contrast, the band's fierce sound is one that you can't help but feel is essential to experience live. One which will whip crowds into a dirty but thoroughly enjoyable mess. The contrasting one-two of 'Cathexis' and 'Catharis' highlights this dynamic turn, with the sincerity of the former bleeding into the rage of the latter. 

Flagship single and anthem 'Lost; Faraway' opens the closing straight with gusto, and you can't help but admire the energy that the band have poured into this record and their craft in general. Penultimate track 'Through Salt & Water' showcases the band's formula at its touching best, where indie meets metalcore somewhere on the same plane as the likes of Manchester Orchestra's COPE

'Witches' is a restrained and subtly haunting closer to this collection of tracks, and in some ways a fitting end to Alburn's first full length declaration of their existence. Its departure from the rest of the record simultaneously teases a different shade whilst appropriately winding due the rock machine to provide a suitable conclusion. Whilst the quartet may not making waves with this album, they are bound to be making old and new fans smile, and where's the harm in that? 

a l b u r n is available from iTunes and Bandcamp

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