Vessels' second 7" on Cuckundoo 'Two Words & A Gesture' has some ultra itchy rhythms. It's like I've got ants in my pants listening to it. I can't tell if the piano part is played or a looped sample. It makes me think of Mogwai with its powerful sense of drama. It's a bit of a builder this on,e peaking right at the end. The vocalist belts it out on 'Clear & Calm' which has a cool bassline, piano and melodic guitar with some quieter breakdowns. Again this one just keeps evolving throughout its duration and as soon as you get hooked into a part it shifts in another direction. Not in a noodly way but with a really tight grip on the song. Good stuff.
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What their label says...
THIS YEAR HAS SEEN TWO UK TOURS, A RADIO 1 SESSION AND THE DEBUT SINGLE BY LEEDS BAND VESSELS. TIM MITCHELL (DRUMS/LAPTOP), MARTIN TEFF (BASS/GUITAR), TOM EVANS (GUITAR/VOCALS/KEYBOARDS) AND LEE J. MALCOLM GUITAR/VOCALS/KEYBOARDS/LAPTOP) FORMED AS VESSELS IN LATE 2005, AND SELF RELEASED AN EP IN 2006. DEBUT SINGLE, "YUKI" WAS PICKED OUT BY FORMER SUEDE FRONTMAN BRETT ANDERSON IN A RADIO 1 COMPETITION TO SUPPORT HIM AT A SOLD OUT SHOW AT LONDON'S BUSH HALL. ANDERSON LIKENED YUKI TO BRIAN ENO, WHEREAS BANDS AS DIVERSE AS TALK TALK, BATTLES, MOGWAI, I WAS A CUB SCOUT AND BROKEN SOCIAL SCENE HAVE BEEN NAME-CHECKED ELSEWHERE. HUW STEPHENS, STUART MACONIE, STEVE LAMACQ AND JOHN KENNEDY HAVE ALL SHOWN SUPPORT FOR THE BAND, THE FORMER INVITING THEM TO RECORD A SESSION AT MAIDA VALE AND TO PLAY THE LATITUDE FESTIVAL. THEIR INCENDIARY LIVE SET, UTILISING A GREAT UNDERSTANDING OF LIGHT AND SHADE, WAS AUGMENTED BY THE ADDITION OF A FIFTH MULTI INSTRUMENTALIST MEMBER, PETER WRIGHT, ON THEIR SUMMER TOUR OF 2007. IN FACT, IT HAS BEEN KNOWN FOR THE BAND TO ADD TWO FURTHER GUITARISTS FOR A SPINAL TAP-ESQUE SET CLOSER. "TWO WORDS & A GESTURE" SHOWS A DIFFERENT SIDE OF VESSELS TO THE DEBUT. TOM SINGS, BUT THE CONTEXT IS VERY DIFFERENT TO THE ELECTRONICA DRIVEN "YUKI"; IT IS A HIGHLY CHARGED, PROGRESSIVE BUT MELODIC SONG THAT SIGNS OFF WITH A TWO DRUM KIT CLIMAX. B-SIDE, "CLEAR & CALM", HAS LEE ON VOCAL DUTIES, AND FUSES SEVERAL CONTRASTING SECTIONS SEAMLESSLY.
