Vaux

Vaux

Beyond Virtue, Beyond Vice

[5/5] The first time AP reviewed Beyond Virtue, Beyond Vice, we told you it wasn’t the sound of one of post-hardcore’s most adventurous acts selling out but rather, moving forward. A year after the album first surfaced, and in hindsight-well, we were right. Virtue finds Vaux emerging as a force in visceral rock, neighboring between Muse’s apocalyptic dance operas and the haunting, ethereal soundscapes of latter-day Smashing Pumpkins. So while Vaux can still bring it like mad brawlers (as on the swarming “Burn The Bandwagon”), their evolution is most apparent-and arguably most effective-when they exercise restraint. “All our ceilings are skies if we can outlast our lives,” vocalist Quentin Smith whispers on the lonely “The Last Report From…” And, really, aspiring to immortality makes sense for Vaux. Their rock knows no limits. (VX/OUTLOOK MUSIC Tristan Staddon

Categories: