Vagus on form with new songs and a few faves. Alice Gee, Gary Law, James Dolan and Jonny Hill are a new wave krautrock quartet with pop tones and avant-garde sensibility. The music on this live EP comes from the full-length concert film we published in March 2017, with a heavy sound wrung from the tapes by producer Gary Law.
In my opinion, this is the best sounding recording of Vagus out there to date. The show itself had a good atmosphere. The first act of the evening, Semu Cà, delivered a meticulously detailed set and was greatly enjoyed. Vagus’ set was focused and febrile. The small venue was full of friends. With this audio recording, the band’s bassist Gary has fashioned a slab of heavy rock out of their angular post-punk pop – a fascinating genre mutation. ― Chris Almond
Let’s recap some major moments in the recording history of Vagus. Gutsty was a prototype punkoid classic, and then the first commercial release Electro Looks a pop song with electronic rhythms made while technically still a duo. AK-47 was next, with Gary Law overseeing construction of a techno armature for prog-inspired darkness. Jersey Live 2015 with Par 4 stage, mixed by Sam Falle, was rock ‘n’ roll spectacle and an explosive live debut. A recording done at the Mechanics venue captures a ferocious version of Tokyo, often a set climax.
Soon the band will record and a classic album will be born. We will wait and listen for the drone, for that will be the beginning, and figure and ground will coalesce as they find perspective in a musical framework that expands the potential for European art-jazz approach to improvised sections within quintessentially British pop compositions.
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