Vanishing Life – ‘Surveillance’

‘Punk rock’ and ‘super groups’ are two concepts that, when uttered in the same sentence, create a wave of anguish that washes over the listener with the expectation of disappointment. For every Fugazi or OFF!, there’s the crushing mediocrity of an Audioslave or Velvet Revolver, so it’s a relief that from the opening staccato crunch and harmonics of ‘The Realist’, the first track on Vanishing Life’s debut ‘Surveillance’, there’s an urgency underscoring proceedings. Whilst ‘Surveillance’ doesn’t break new ground, it stands on its own as an incredibly professional love letter to the last thirty-odd years of American hardcore punk.

What makes this album a blast to listen to is in the sonic canvas that the band is adept at painting, exploring the last thirty years. Singer and guitarist Walter Schreifels alone has roots in old school NYC hardcore, grunge and post-hardcore from his tenures in Gorilla Biscuits, Quicksand and Rival Schools respectively, whilst Rise Against’s Zach Blair adds a certain level of sheen that cuts through proceedings. Cuts like ‘Outlier’ and ‘Exile’ are tight, slick and aggressive and whilst they don’t set the world on fire with their originality, they are well honed with years of songwriting experience.

But it’s the background of the prog-rock-punk rhythm section from …And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead that binds the band together. Both bassist Autry Fulbright and the absolutely fantastic Jamie Miller – the current drummer for Bad Religion, and one of the best kept secrets in the punk rock scene – are the heart of the band, drawing influence from their time together in the Austin group and pushing Vanishing Life into new areas of sonic exploration. It’s evident in album highlight ‘Seven Pointed Star’, a hybrid of Josh Homme-esque stoner rock and noughties post-hardcore weirdness. Think These Arms Are Snakes jamming along to Kyuss and you’ll be on the right track.

When Vanishing Life become more than the sum of their parts, ‘Surveillance’ has some outstanding moments. ‘Pretty Ruined’s repeated mantra towards the song’s coda of “here we are, hand in hand”, shudders in anticipation towards an explosive release and yelped crescendos. ‘Big Other’s reverb heavy guitars clash with growling bass and pounding rhythms that close the record on a high. These songs possess a coherence that defies the super group stereotype.

‘Surveillance’ does have a major shortcoming, however, and it’s the same one most super groups fall victim to: at 13 songs long, it’s not a quick and easy listen, and some songs could have been cut for clarity. And whilst the ambient segues of ’17’ and ’16’ show the band are conscious of framing the album as a whole, they’re also reminiscent of the flab that some of the more bloated Trail Of Dead albums are bogged down with. Yet, whilst it could do with being leaner, it’s a meaty offering that proves there’s substance to Vanishing Life, and that this is definitely a project well worth your time.

MATTHEW WILSON