The Vasco Era

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Album Review, Kalgoorlie Miner

Album: Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside
Artist: The Vasco Era
Reviewer: Alicia Bridges

Renowned for live performances bursting with energy, splattered with blood from overexertions and impressive regardless of the previous evening's antics, The Vasco Era could have had trouble transferring such intense animation from the stage to the studio.

However, the bluesy rock band's very long-awaited debut album Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside, preceded by a number of EPs, throws out as much excitement and pleasure as possible without the obvious atmosphere created in a live venue.

The Vasco Era's ballads, particularly When We Tried To Party To Forget About It, ooze unbearably addictive passion, requiring only simple lyrics and pained but uniquely brilliant vocals to inspire emotion.

Honey Bee, another highlight, delivers a recurring burst of reverberation before exploding into a howling romantic dedication.

Sid O'Neil sounds as though he smokes a thousand cigarettes each night to rasp down his vocal chords and the collection of songs, each named after the situation that inspired it, are equally as raw.

I love this band's live show so much I was terrified of listening to the album for fear it might disappoint, but where was my faith?

The Vasco Era are not over-produced, never boring and most of all, never, ever lacking heart.

This is music that stretches to highest and lowest emotional extremes, with thumping, heavy fun to fill anyone with the greatest musical high.
- Kalgoorlie Miner

"Oh We Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside" rolls out a swaggering set of infectious, angular rock & roll, quite a contrast to the Vasco Era's previous EP "Miles", and a long was from the radio friendly pop-rock that the bands record label was apparently hoping for.

A concept album of sorts -all the songs are about the life experience of growing up in Victoria's Apollo Bay- "...Seaside" carries on some of the bluesy undertones of "Miles", but rather than let the vibe sit safely, this time round the band tear it to shreds, adding bile, bite and a few surprise twists to their solid radio sounding sensibility. Yep, radio will probably reject it, but that's not always a bad thing.
-Dan Lanader - Rolling Stone May 07

“…these guys pretty much grabbed me by the shoulders, gave me a quick kick in the balls, and blew me away. How do you spell talent? V-a-s-c-o-e-r-a. They played a White Stripes medley better than the White Stripes!”
- Beat Magazine (Jaymz Clements)

"In the tradition of Ohio's The Black Keys and Detroit’s The White Stripes, Melbourne now has a scrawny white boy blues group to call its own".

- Melbourne's MX paper (Liam Houlihan)

“…the most raw, energetic, and thoroughly riveting music I’ve heard in ages.” - The Mercury / ABC Radio (Tim Cox)

4 Stars
Rolling Stone

Lucille is a wayward marvel: a collection of bleary-eyed ballads, bluesy laments and raw, bleeding rock tunes. 4 ½ Stars
Marie Claire

The Vasco Era are without a doubt one of the best live bands, ever!
DB Magazine

Utter Brilliance, they are, in one word, perfection.
Beat Magazine

Lucille offers up a whole new 'Era. 5 Stars
Time Out Sydney

This album is simply a gem. 4 ½ Stars
Reverb
- Various