Void • Ballads For Beauties And Beasts
Young indie rockers Void have created their debut album ‘Ballads For Beauties And Beasts’ in what sounds like hidden respect to a variety of artists.
Many of the tracks send images flowing through my mind like a waterfall of a variety of artists, due to the similarity in rhythm, vocals aspects and pure beats. First up there is the ‘I Love Rock N Roll’ sway of Britney on ‘Faceless’, the remembrance feeling of REM’s ‘Everybody Hurts’ on ‘Anything At All’ which sent shivers down my body as the beautiful vocals took hold, ‘Angel’s Eyes’ gets a little Bon Jovi sounding while ‘Wake Me’ has a Guns N Roses style vocals and beat.
With this in mind, the music presented with ‘Ballads For Beauties And Beasts’ appeals to large audience spectrum. Through pounding beats that will have you mesmerised in seconds to the simple and effective flow of instruments like the integral keys of ‘Behind My Smile…’ acoustic guitar of ‘Angel’s Eyes’, and vital bass of ‘Turn Away’. The pace also differs from electric riffs of ‘Anything At All’ to darker sounds of ‘Wake Me’. The atmospheric mystery that surrounds ‘Faceless’ is defiantly noteworthy.
Vocals on this album differ at times. On ‘Beaten & Bruised’ they are much softer than anticipated, they are slightly edgier on ‘Something/Nothing’ and very emotional on ‘Angel’s Eyes’. The vocals can be quite tense at times, especially on ‘Amber’ as the vocalist sings about getting hurt • “You hurt me” he sings with real emotion being felt by the listener. The harmonies that are carried on this album are very good, and work very well in sync with each other. It is because of these striking vocals that the lyrics become pulsating. “Behind that smile there’s a lonely child” is just one example from ‘Behind My Smile…’
This album may not sound completely original, but it is the familiarity and association that makes it more enjoyable. As a debut, it may need some originality to stand out from others and something that will add a little spice, but it is an attractive and well-produced release.