Vast
Nude

THE REVIEW

"Nude" is the third work by Vast, the one-man band of Jon Crosby. The album is the union of the best episodes from two unofficial albums, "Turquoise" and "Crimson", which were made available only on the Internet. Despite seeming like the result of an assembly job, the album still sounds very homogeneous. However, it might be the first descent to earth for a group, or rather an artist, who until now seemed to be on another planet. The album's tones are very sad, perhaps in line with a certain lack of popularity of the project which nonetheless has all the credentials to escape anonymity and rise to prominence in contemporary melodic rock. This would be demonstrated alone by "Don't Take Your Love Away," a chilling melody, accompanied by piano and some electronic beats. An episode of compositional magnificence and inspiration that would bring joy to many ears and hearts, if only it had received the deserved space. The twelve songs present here offer a synthesis of the music of two groups that have meant something to Crosby. Echoes of U2 emerge from listening to "Thrown Away" (relatable to the early period of the Irish band) and "Turquoise" (which wouldn't have looked out of place on "Achtung Baby"). Instead, tributes to The Cure are "I Need To Say Goodbye", "Japanese Fantasy", and "Candle".

The overall tone of the work is still very melancholic. It barely emerges in the more energetic episodes, but elsewhere the sense of sadness is heartbreaking: "Lost" especially, but also "Winter In My Heart", are blows to the heart from which it's difficult to escape. The detachment from the sense of joy in "Music For People" is evident, moving from the airy openings of that album to a certain sense of suffocation that is barely perceptible here, but it's there, and it becomes increasingly inexorable as the tracks progress. A slow suffocation and a sweet death, nonetheless. At the end of it all, there's an episode out of focus compared to the rest, "Desert Garden," an acoustic track recorded live, where Jon Crosby's voice and soul are laid "bare": now you can do with him what you will.

Love him or hate him. However, I cannot help but urge you to choose the first option. For the good of your heart...