The Vasco Era
Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
Universal



Instead of picking up a nice quiet indie band (who I mistakenly thought The Vasco Era were) and having them sing to me in dulcet tones, when I first put on their new disc 'Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside', I was smashed by some tough Australian rock.

These days, genres and sub-genres run so deep that you usually need to go down about five levels to give an idea of what a band sounds like. The Vasco Era for once has made my job a bit easier. Think loud rock, guitars that haven't been compressed to within an inch of their lives and straight up rock vocals accompanied by a tight rhythm section. Thankfully I didn't find myself slapping myself in the face and rubbing the disc face down on the road because it was ridiculously derivative like a hell of a lot of 'new' Australian rock out there is these days (Jet and Wolfmother perhaps?). Every time I listen to the disc, I hear a hint of some other Australian band hiding away. But that's what's known as an influence. Without influences, where do you even start?

Whilst remaining melodic for the vast majority of the album, vocalist Sid O'Neil sounds like he has placed sand paper in his throat, rivaling (maybe) even Tom Waits. The guitars are just how I like them, dirty and unpolished. Not as if they've been recorded badly, but like when you hear a guitar smash into a solo and you can picture the guitarist playing like he would if he was at a concert - raw and untouched, and whatever comes out of the guitar is what you hear. You can just hear the passion with which the tracks were played. Vibrato, bends and you know he's punishing the guitar by the sound that's produced.

Strangely enough, my favourite track on the album is When We Tried To Party To Forget About It, their impression of a ballad. The desperation in O'Neil's voice coupled with the melody just draw me in. What's most important is they are Australians, and thank goodnes they sound like it. Hoorah.

Sam Vinall