(Moshi Moshi)
London
multi-instrumentalist Tom Vek gained a cult following with his 2005
debut We Have Sound with a modest reception it gained him a
dedicated following who'd have to wait six years for a follow up. In
2011 he released Leisure Seizure and whilst it didn't win him
further exposure it still shown an artist work keeping an eye on. Now
he's got his third album in just under a decade, Luck, and
whilst he isn't the most prodigious artist it might be enough to
cement his cult status.
Jittery and agitated
post-punk of Sherman (Animals In The Jungle), the first single form
Luck really stands out. It has the kind of simple three note
guitar line that would be at home on a track form the mid-2000s
post-punk revival. Whilst it all sounds a bit like Bloc Party's first
album it doesn't come across as old with a sharp synth line cuts in
alongside a restless drum beat. As the song's title forms the track's
chorus Vek's ability for creating urgency in his half-spoken deadpan
vocals becomes apparent.
Broke stands as one of
the more ambitious genre-hopping tracks, with big pop song keys and
middle eastern scales mixing with big garage rock riffs and and messy
drum beats, throwing a succession of hooks and riffs at you for it
four minutes. Trying To Do Better brings together a mixture of heart
on sleeve emotion and aggression from post-hardcore with electronic
sounds that works way better than you think it will.
The songs keep
themselves around the four minute mark and simple verse chorus pop
structures which is both a strength and weakness. Vek's penchant for
mixing up disparate genres keeps things interesting but you always
feel you know it is often leading to a big chorus. He has never been
striving for lyrical complexity and for the most part his straight up
and simple approach works but there are a couple of lines like “If
you say you didn't do it /I'll believe you didn't do it” on the
chorus of Ton of Bricks that are hard to overlook. He started ahead
of the curve with his mix of indie rock and electronica but now it's
common place for bands to incorporate electronics and smart
production in the mix with the tried and tested band dynamics.
Luck is a varied
piece if work, covering enough musical styles to give nineties Beck a
run for his money but the risk with that is you can lose out on
cohesion and that's were it falls short. You'd be hard pressed to
find another recent album that touches on such varied genres as
tracks like the acoustic The Girl You Wouldn't Leave For Any Other
Girl to the cut-up jungle beats and squelchy digital bass lines of
You'll Stay where Vek pushes his electronic influences to the
forefront. Even in the internet age that has brought about the
blurring of genre lines when he's at his best Tom Vek's musical
approach still sounds unique.
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