REVIEWS you can use...

Vast: Music For People

Okay, I'm guilty. When I popped Vast's Music For People in my computer at work I clicked straight to the current single, "Free" which rests at track 2. That's it, lock me up, take me to Billboard jail, I go willingly. It's a catchy song, but in a person-standing-on-top-of-something-high-up kinda way. I think of movie trailers for good superhero films (not that I've seen many). Anyway I got my fix for that one, stopped it, and started the whole cd so I could treat it like a real album (and since "Free" is song 2, I got to hear it again soon). The soul reason I picked this up is it falls in the "Baby NIN" category of recent weeks, such as 12 Rounds (who are great in their own right) and Snake River Conspiracy (who do incredible covers and so-so original songs). Baby Nails is my weak label for groups where people that used to work closely with NIN's masterpieces help along new talent. Vast's Music For People was mixed largely by Alan Moulder, and a remix of "Free" is available from Chris Vrenna (NIN's incredible former drummer/collaborator) on Vast's website. Do any of these Baby Nails sound like NIN? Well, sort of. Those outside what used to be called the "industrial" genre would probably say a resounding "yes" to that one. But in all honesty, Vast songs may have personal influences from NIN, but smack more of European associates. That poor excuse for a background check aside, Vast does indeed have a unique sound. I just can't figure out what it is. The CD swings in late to a party that took place in the early nineties. It would have been a great party, and everyone would have enjoyed Vast's performance immensely and the hits would have been big hits and the album spawning follow-up albums. In fact, Jon Crosby (main man of the Vast gig) does some surprising things, teetering between electronica and outright acoustic guitar songs. Strange? Well in theory but not in practice. There is a consistency to the material, and it doesn't totally lie in his voice (I'd me remiss to not mention the nice texture of string use in this CD). The lyrics are thoughtful, and are cohesive with the music (although occasionally a bit underwritten, such as: "The gates of Rock and Roll will never close on me"). Vast owes more to Robert Smith than Trent Reznor, and maybe more to New Model Army than Nine Inch Nails. I really dig some of the songs, and I think I would have dug them even more about 10 years ago. But the 2000 market is a weird thing, so maybe a Euro-Retro-Techno band does have a place. I'll make some room in my collection for it...