When I approach the reviewing of something this personal, I like to hit the page without the journalistic conventions. The fact is, the A to B approach might make for “complete” writing, but it rarely makes any sense in terms of the impact of a piece of art. In fact, I’m going to push aside all of my notes and just cut to the chase: Vandfald is a band to be heard. Along with Bury the Moon and a handful of other locals, they’re proving that Corvallis is fertile ground for thoughtful modern rock. If you’re one of the last locals to see through the lack of venues and catch a glimpse of what’s going on in project studios, living rooms, and garages around here, now is your chance to get on board.
Matt Lucas, Josh Lucas, Ryan Hanson, and John Monroe are the humans behind Vandfald, and I just finished probably my two dozenth listen-through of their newest creation, the A Delicate Balance EP, which was released this last October. A second effort backing up their 2013 debut album Fall Out, most listeners will make comparisons to Coldplay, and fair enough, but that’s just the skin of it. Vandfald has that down-to-earth quality that gets ironed out of mainstream musical projects, giving the tunes a sizzling organic crust that makes them ideal for the sort of impactful listening experience that inextricably ties music to memories. The overall vibe is such that even if the lyrics were horrible (they’re very much the opposite, by the way), you wouldn’t care because it sounds intense.
Transplants from Texas, the Lucas brothers moved here specifically to pursue music. They’re influenced by acts such as Modest Mouse, The National, Bon Iver, and Radiohead and have a great convoluted “how we found our drummer” story that I’ll let them tell you themselves. Definitely give A Delicate Balance a listen via https://vandfaldband.bandcamp.
The song Firemouth is filling my living room right now with some sort of voodoo. My Christmas tree is falling over, needles all over the place, feet on the coffee table… honestly, you should give this a try.
By Johnny Beaver
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