Vast, "Turquoise/Crimson"
self released
The influence of the electro-pop 80s is not just living strong, it'sexperiencing a genuine revival of late. Dave Gahan's got a solo album,Duran Duran is recording again with the original members, and artistslike Kenna are recording albums drenched in the New Order pastiche. Oneartist who has always seemed to like this palette while not beingafraid to take chances is Jon Crosby, aka Vast. With his two albums onElektra, Crosby embraced the industrial electronic sound with a modicumof pop sensibilities to create his own path, with odd samples enteringthe mix from the Bulgarian Voices to Benedictine Monks. Through it all,though, is a heavy Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy feel, with darksubject matter as the anchor. Now Crosby is taking his biggest chanceyet, separated from Elektra who wanted a more radio-friendly sound:he's releasing the demos for his new album as two separate ten-songdownloads on his website. It's not a new concept, obviously, andthere's no planned fan interaction where they get input into thealbum's final tracklisting. It's just a chance to hear the new musicand to see how it will evolve. Turquoise and Crimson represent the newevolution in the Vast sound, with more of the same from Crosby, justfree from the bounds of label politics.
Turquoise is the stronger of the two mini-albums, withharder-edged arrangements and performances. The title track starts offwith the bitter anger of loneliness, and its a tone that remainsthroughout with occasional moments of slower tempo and quiet. There's acold that runs at the core of all these songs, like there's nothingleft at the end of the day to run on. This music is the loss of a loveror a loved one, of innocence, and of dreams you hoped would materializebut always really knew would melt away. As a result, the lyrics givevery little in terms of hope. Some of the lyrics are a bit on the triteside, as well, so my hope is that some of them will change before thefinal release, or the weaker songs will be left off entirely ("Can'tSay No to You" and "Candle" are prime examples). But there is an energyin these songs that is undeniable. Crosby is lashing out, but he's notproceeding unabated. He wants forgiveness, he wants to belong tosomething or someone. That doesn't mean he can't be bitter about notbelonging now. He also has a real gift for melody that shines throughany rough spots that exist. "I Woke Up LA" and "Falling From the Sky"are powerhouse songs, and "Desert Garden" brings to life a futilitythat everyone has felt at some point. Turquoise soars with melodies andhooks, stumbles a little lyrically, but overall walks on its own twofeet with confidence.
What Turquoise lacks lyrically, Crimsonmore than makes up for. Any album that starts off with "I know you justwant to kill me" is going to ride a rollercoaster of emotions, and onthese songs Crosby lets out all the demons to play. Thematically, thisgroup is also about bitterness and loss, but the feeling is conveyedwith a lighter brush. With the exception of a few songs, this would beconsidered the mellow record, and the confidence is all but replaced bycrippling doubt and insecurity. Where the songs on Turquoise seem to fit together, there is a start and stop on Crimsonwhere things don't exactly match up, and that seems to be part of thepoint. Harder-edged songs are there to break up the monotony andoverwhelming depression, but also to jar and bring across a feeling ofuncomfortability. True, they're demos, but they were arranged this wayfor a purpose. Nevertheless, the songs may not be as agressive, butthey're just as impressive. "I Need to Say Goodbye" is the ultimatekiss-off, the "I won't be played with" song that hits where it hurts."Winter in My Heart" and "Where it Never Rains" bring across both sidesof the love coin, where it's missing and desperately wanted and whereit's found and is clutched at tightly in the hope that it won't go awayagain. The only misstep is the heavy-handed social commentary of"That's My Boy," which seems to be an examination of the culture thatproduced the killers of Columbine. Crosby doesn't complete the thought,and switches to a faith examination that confuses the issue, so thesong doesn't hit the right switches. Overall, it's a minor flaw, andboth mini-albums have enough strong songs to make a fine album. Bothare a step beyond his previous work, and with the right fixing theycould be the makings of the best Vast album yet.
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TurquoiseCrimsonmore samples:
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