A look at the roster of the now-seemingly-defunct Overlook Records will tell you that quite a few alumni no longer exist. The Glaswegian label counted the likes of The Darien Venture, Trapped in Kansas and Crusades (all dead as the proverbial doornail) among its roster, not to mention VASA, the latter of whom have been beavering away mostly behind the scenes for a few years working on their debut album.
Overlook were responsible for releasing the quartet's first EP 'Never Have Dreams' in late 2012, a five-tracker that is stashed away on Overlook's Bandcamp page and a little on the obscure side. Sure, some of it has been repurposed – closer 'Not Now, But Soon' was given a makeover and bundled with 'Colours' outtake 'Clamps' for a single release in April; and 'Cynthia' pops up on the album in a vastly reworked form – but if you didn't know that existed, now you do.
It says something about their commitment to their work that they have more or less toiled away on their debut for three years but, until the announcement of 'Colours' a couple of months back, only released a pair of singles – the other being 'Not A Cop', which has also been refined to fit in with the rest of the record. In Camp VASA, songs are ready when they're ready and not a moment before; and even then, the band may want to improve on them. They're perfectionists who compensate for such by undertaking a rigorous touring schedule, and it has allowed them to develop into one of the best instrumental bands anywhere in the British Isles. The album arrives at that time of year where most people would choose introspective and downcast instrumental music over something joyous and vibrant. More fool them: right now, 'Colours' sticks out like a sore thumb and is all the better for it.
It is, as you can imagine, quite full-on; the opening one-two of 'Smashletes' and 'As Long As It Doesn't Explode' comes at you with all the force of a speeding train, and there's precious little let-up from there. The only proffered downtime comes in the form of counterparts 'Punched' and 'Unpunched', a pair of spacey interludes that serve as either welcome relief or a surprising look at the band's softer side; which side of the fence you're on depends on whether or not you'd like to hear them wreck face for 40 minutes. The band – Blaine Thompson and Scott Coupar on guitar, John Niblock on bass (anyone who's seen them live will attest to him having a _magnificent_ bass face), and Niall Morison MacRae on drums – are extremely tight as a live unit, but anyone fearing the loss of energy that sometimes comes with the transition from stage to studio has nothing to worry about: 'Colours' is every bit as forceful as a debut album from a band with a live reputation like this lot should be.
Sure, it can be overwhelming, but this isn't something you can put on in the background and, say, cook dinner to. It would probably end in you making a total mess of your kitchen, because remaining static while the likes of 'Fat Ronaldo' and 'Ergonomic Keyboard' are audible anywhere in the vicinity is, quite frankly, an absurd notion. Music this uplifting is something you have to give yourself to, body and soul. It'll make you grin until you injure yourself. (Is that a thing? For the purposes of this review, it is definitely a thing. This should come with warning stickers that say 'may cause grinjury.') VASA deserve a much wider audience than they're currently used to – if they keep this up, they're going to be huge.
8/10
Words: Gareth O'Malley
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