The Perfect Indie, Punk, Rock Mix
In the music world, names like Vanlustbader have the annoying habit of instantly conjuring preconceptions of what to expect from the band. Images of death metal rockers originating from Scandinavia mingle bizarrely with the quintessential big hair rockers of the Eighties like Van Halen and Motley Crue. It comes as a surprise then when the Australian quartet actually consist of rock, indie and punk influences and play music more in tune with The Pixies and The Cars then any group their name may allude to.
At times verging on pop - rockiness, 'Here We Go Again' will appeal to the radio listening public as it attempts to lure them to the band's sound. It's upbeat enough to grab you and continues to retain your attention with an enticingly charming hook. Blending rock, indie and punk effortlessly into one track, Vanlustbader have produced a song that treads tentatively into the pop world but maintains sufficient rock qualities to satisfy also.
Having succeeded to provide an adequate quota of rock with the single's title track, Vanlustbader proceed to gently return you to earth. 'Live Fast' is a laid back track to chill out to. A rock undercurrent does still prevail, raising its head most notably during the chorus, but that's it. Vanlustbader's track to wind down to, the song takes you on a journey accompanied by mellow guitar riffs and understated drumbeats that by the end have left you so relaxed you could be mistaken for being comatose! But fear not, Brisbane's finest have an antidote, the type that blasts your eardrums and shakes your insides uncontrollably. Yes, they have saved the best for last with a song that begs the question, "why isn't this the single?" 'Here We Go Again' is a brilliant track but it seems to have been chosen as the single purely as it is more widely appealing and has an acceptance quality to it. 'Come Alive' on the other hand is an in your face track that appears to characterise the band better. It doesn't set out to please you, to win you over with non-threatening rock. Instead it penetrates into you with a deep, pumping bass and uncontrollable guitars all fused together by pounding drums. You would be forgiven for mistaking this for a Kasabian track but considering their producer, Jim Abiss, also worked on this then it is unsurprising. 'Come Alive' has a dirty roughness to it that seems absent from the more clean cut offerings it is presented alongside and although all three tracks suggest that Vanlustbader may be a name for the future, 'Come Alive' just has that little extra to make you sit up and take notice.