Bungalow Rex
Apollon, 2021
9/10
A band assembled from members of Father Of A Thousand Kids, Ribosyme and The Danny Cannon Show, among others, as Vestamaran the quintet play a diverse brand of rock that often points towards the ‘90s, and yet still embraces plenty of modern day indie-rock spirit, too.
“Error Come Save Me” starts the listen with firm guitar playing as playful percussion enters the swift and melodic indie-rock, and “Risky Pigeon” follows with a bright and busy display of energetic and dynamic modern rock that even gets a bit funky.
Halfway through, the calm “My Finest Eye” offers a poetic example of sublime song craft that hints at Americana, while “Solitude” builds into a cathartic and soaring rocker that pushes and pulls with tension. “Salt Chair”, another excellent tune, then brings bluesy rhythm and grit into a very soulful execution.
The last two tracks maintain the strong song craft, and include the more rugged yet very tuneful “Follow Me”, which could fill stadiums, and “Only For You” exits the listen dreamy and with hypnotic keys adding much allure to the heartfelt finish.
Self-described as ‘low octane rock’, Vestamaran offer plenty of variety across these 10 tracks, and the quality of the songwriting remains high throughout. An excellent album, it will be exciting to see what they do next.
Travels well with: Castaway Hounds- Come On Down; 35 Tapes- Home