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Rating: The Vex Red no longer exist. The band has ousted Terry, the singer and lyricist, and decided to continue with another singer, under a different name, but with the same record label, I Am Recordings, of the well-known producer Ross Robinson.
It was Ross who discovered this English band, through a contest launched in the Kerrang magazine, and launched them on the music market, strong in his own great work in the production and conception phase of the album, and with genuinely good songs, meticulously crafted, full of interesting and daring sounds, but never banal. The band seemed to be on a roll (Rocksound put them on the cover; they supported Staind in their European tour, there was talk of collaborations with The Cure, also now under Robinson's wing), but the commercial breakthrough - eventually deserved - that many expected, did not come, and the news of their unexpected breakup emerged for reasons not yet clear.
However, this album remains, which for me, was one of the best of 2002. It starts with the Closest, and you immediately realize the vibe of this album: Deftones, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails... all great names that light up in our minds song by song, worthy influences and quotations, and overall personal ones, which enrich the eleven songs present here with well-blended ideas functional to the song structure. Dermo, the second track, starts with subdued and desolate piano notes, then bursts into a sensational destructive release in the chorus, where drummer Ashley Soan plays uneven tempos as a virtuoso, which finally leads straight to the key song of this album, the main single: Can't Smile. A song that seems to never take off, deceiving you with a treacherous ending of nervous breakdown, violent and desperate, like the tones of this album, often akin to Robert Smith's lyrics.
The album indeed continues on this emotional rollercoaster, alternating surreal calm and sadness (Untitled, Bully Me) with outbursts of anger worthy of Nine Inch Nails' Broken (the guitars of Clone Jesus remind of the historic Wish) and of The Fragile (Cause and Solution-->Just Like You Imagined).
It's a fine debut, which promised so much: what a pity. We will remain waiting for the new album, if and when it will arrive, from the new band (which it seems we might find as collaborators on the next album of The Cure, expected in May); in the meantime, I'll go and listen again to Start with a Strong and Persistent Desire, see you soon.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Itch (03:47)
You know I've always felt
I'm here with no-one else
I feel I've come apart.
You've seen what's in my heart
I get so bored, make your move
Won't waste away for you
Don't bring me down
We're the same, I am crying out loud too
Chorus:
I'm feeling all your pain
You know I feel the same
You really shouldn't question me
You are never satisfied
It's fucking me inside
You really shouldn't question me
It's true it's all because of you
We're all so lost
You sleep to rest your head
But me, I sleep... to dream
Chorus 2x
Break
Chorus
09 Clone Jesus (04:36)
So you think you've calmed down
But you're still the same now
You think you can hide truth?
But it's all inside you
Don't go too far
To hide your heart
Fake man
Give it all up
Fake what you can
Leave, it's all wrong
You're not Jesus
You're not God
I know you think I am wrong
You don't have to open up
I can see you well enough
Fake man
Give it all up
Fake what you can
Leave, it's all wrong
You go too far
To hide your heart
Fake man
Give it all up
Fake what you can
Leave, it's all wrong
You have nothing I can't brake
I'm sure you feel cheated
You are something I can't take
It's all you have to give
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