Vast
April

THE REVIEW

"April," more than a genuine new album by Vast, is a collection of unreleased tracks offered by the artist Jon Crosby in a completely acoustic format, stripped of all the electric and electronic embellishments that have characterized his work until now. It almost seems like a singer-songwriter album from a solo project by a vocalist taking a break from his own group. It would be so if Vast were not already the emanation of a single person. That's why this album feels a bit out of place in their discography. If it weren't, it would be a sonic turning point that would leave the band's fans astounded.

"Transition," "Passage," "Parenthesis" are therefore the keywords to find the right interpretation of this work. Within the album, there are eight new songs and acoustic versions of two lesser tracks from "Nude," "Be With Me" and "I Can't Say No To You," which paradoxically are almost preferable to the originals.

The constant strumming of the acoustic guitar accompanies the introductory "You're Too Young" and melancholy immediately becomes the protagonist of the scene. In "Sunday I'll Be Gone", a piano makes an appearance. "One More Day" is even more intimate and reflective. Pale, dull colors paint the air and it already seems difficult to sustain such emotional tension throughout the album. However, Crosby's rock soul makes a fleeting appearance with "I'm Too Good" in a sort of blues track for metal offspring. Finally, there are some rises in Crosby's splendid vocal tone, and the acoustic atmosphere is even partially broken by a brief electric guitar solo. REM comes to mind, especially those from "Automatic For The People."

"I Am A Vampire" is another somewhat atypical track on the album, with a nursery rhyme-like rhythm and an aura more joyful compared to the rest of the grooves on this record. With "She Visits Me", you plunge back into introspection, thanks to the anguished notes rarely heard on a Vast album. Echoes of the most poignant Radiohead, those of "Exit Music (For A Film)" to be precise, can be heard. A slightly country atmosphere accompanies "Tattoo of Her Name", which almost sounds like an unplugged version of "Land Of Shame." The only other completely unreleased track is "Having Part Of You", which is very reminiscent of "Desert Garden" in melody as well. Perhaps it was this track that sparked the idea for an acoustic album where the songwriting was reduced to its essentials, music stripped of any additions, the artist laid bare further, even more than in the past.

An umpteenth act of love towards the fans. Whether it was appreciated or not, that's your call...