Vassals

Musically, it is probably easy to peg Vassals' songs as an update of the Pixies' quiet/loud binary opposition (and when you listen live - they are LOUD), but so much more can be found here in terms of the songs' restraint, craftsmanship and lyrical dexterity. From start to finish, Vassals' songs often grow in intensity from buoyant initial verses to bruising choruses, though upon close listening underneath a structure of pop melody remains. Even in the caustic, feedback-drenched choruses there is that insulating force of hummable melodies, channeling the charged energy of the songs like those overhead power lines carrying electricity across the country.