Plural, single word band names really seem to be the in thing at the moment, don't they? Battles, Grails, Errors, Chromatics, Liars, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. I suppose it's taken over from 'The Somethings' as the template of choice. Come to think of it, 'Strokes' would have been quite a good name, conjuring up images of porn and hospitals. To me, at least. Vessels makes me think of milk bottles and that's a train of thought that leads me to Maggie Thatcher but despite that, this is really pretty good and not at all like the poll tax. It's bright-sounding guitar-led mathy post-rock (too many hyphens) with epic noisy crescendos that does enough differently to make it very worthwhile. They've definitely got some chops, these boys. White Fields And Open Devices is CD only and out now on Cuckundoo Records.
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What their label says...
Vessels are a 5-piece Leeds based band who have just finished recording their debut album, White Fields and Open Devices, at Pachyderm Studios (Nirvanas In Utero & PJ Harveys Rid Of Me) in the US with John Congleton (Explosions In The Sky/Polyphonic Spree/Black Mountain) producing. Vessels forge together their influences of post-rock, math-rock, electronica and indie into a disparate but cohesive mix. The recording was the culmination of a busy 2007 which featured two singles, two UK tours, appearances at the Latitude (on Huw Stephens BBC Introducing stage) and Moor festivals, Nastyfest and support slots with Brett Anderson, Efterklang, Caribou, iLiKETRAiNS and Youthmovies.Striking digipak packaging comes courtesy of Luke Drozd, who designed the cover for 2007 single Two Words & A Gesture.Vessels have been compared to bands as diverse as Talk Talk, Battles, Mogwai, I Was A Cub Scout and Broken Social Scene. Their incendiary live set, which utilises a great understanding of light and shade, has won them many fans. Radio support has been shown by Huw Stephens (for whom a session was recorded), Stuart Maconie, Steve Lamacq, The Organ and John Kennedy.
