Vaux

On Life; Living (2002)

Scott Heisel

A little history on Vaux - the band used to be called Eiffel, and Volcom has taken great care to make sure everyone who looks at this CD knows it; my only question is "who is Eiffel?" It seems like the label is really pushing for people to know about this name change, but when you've never heard of the former name, why care? Anyway, onto the music.

This four song EP is… difficult, if nothing else. The band seems to take pride in making all four tracks abrasive and cold, taking the mathmatics of Fugazi and mixing it with the rock of Snapcase, while incorporating the art-rock/emo style of, say, early Braid [think "Frankie Welfare Boy Age 5"].

The music itself isn't bad at all, it's just hard to swallow unless you really dig this kind of metallic post-artcore [I think I just made up a new subgenre - go me!]. The band definitely sounds like they have their chops down, and would be a force to be reckoned with live [considering they're a sextet]. I just don't know who to recommend this to. I'd say download the MP3s below and see if you dig it, because honestly I don't know what the "target demographic" for a band like this would be.

MP3s
Everyday
To The End