I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year. One of the prizes was to record with Dave Rhodes (Blindspott, Stylus) at Roundhead Studios, and this single is the first to be released from those sessions.
The band comprise Eileen Jolly (vocals), Cameron Faulkner (guitar, vocals), Kyle Martin (guitar), John Faulding (bass) and Ethan Page (drums), and they come from the Emo viewpoint, mixing punchy rock guitars with nice hooks and vocals which build and create something which is incredibly infectious. Some controlled feedback leads into a riff while John is sparing, Ethan is using a double snare strike and Eileen is deliberately low key, but it builds through the chorus and then Cameron has a vocal beck and call with Eileen in the second verse. The use of different styles and positive use of space, combined with melodic hooks, make for a very strong debut indeed. Dave Rhodes has kept their edge to a minimum, just allowing it to pop its head up during the final instrumental breakdown (which has a brief but very nice rising guitar solo), and the song continues to develop until it suddenly ends, so I just kept it on repeat. There is a lot more to come from these guys, a band to keep an eye out for.
Rating: 9/10
