EastScene

Vanna (pronounced väh’na) is an American, musical knuckle-dragging quintet hailing from Boston, Massachusetts—not to be mistaken for the prime-time glamour girl. Their latest effort, A New Hope, comes just in time for the season of reinvention and growth, which is exactly what Vanna has embraced in this post-hardcore display of maturity and musical might. Warning: Spastic head shaking will ensue.

They’re breathing the life back into their music and their scene, and probably not halting any time soon. Chris Preece stops nothing short of brutal with his adamant attention to serving his faithful listeners with a heavy dose of screams, which are a delightful topping to their musical cake; much more refined and intricately constructed than their previous works. But don’t fret if you can’t always understand what the efff the singers are actually saying. Evan Pharmakis rips on his guitar while belting out clean vocals, most notably on the tracks “Where we are now” and “The Same Graceful Wind”. The rest of the complex guitar work, done seemingly with ease, is compliments of Nicholas Lambert. Don’t you ever forget about the other string man! Shawn Marquis “slaps the bass”, (see I Love You, Man and you’ll have a deeper appreciation for those four-stringed players) adding an intense fill to the already trouncing tracks laid down by drummer Chris Campbell, the latest edition to the band. The album is full of moments that would drive any performer into the sheer depths of exhaustion, complemented by riffs that sound possessed, rather than metal. Which is totally a good thing!

The dozen tracks are just like a bunch of roses, but not without their thorns. Although the album slows down a bit and loses some of its lustre by the end, the initial sting and blend of hard-hitting whatever-cores is something to look into. When you’re scouring for new stuff to listen to, don’t forget about Vanna. They’ve made a huge musical leap, which promises many great things in their future. Their sophomore album, A New Hope, will be released on March 24th on Epitaph Records. Just hope that you’re not the one they’re bashing in their pretty vicious songs.

Overview:

It’s a solid album for a developing band, still in search of their own sound in this ever-changing and biting business called the music industry.

7 throwdowns/10

“Trashmouth” is bad ass, and they’re just warming up: “How could it feel so right, when I’m doing you wrong?”