VESPERA ‘THE THOUGHTS THAT PLAGUE YOU’
Before we get into the guts of this review of the Los Angeles-based Vespera’s The Thoughts That Plague You, a record that on first blush “reads” like a compilation of all the band’s heretofore released music, there’s actually some vital context to understanding why what were three separate previously-released EPs have been re-ordered and combined into an LP. As Vespera singer Casval Wolfe informed me, “The Thoughts That Plague You was written as one continuous 14-song album, but came out across three EPs. We’ve restored its intended sequence and want to give the complete record the attention and life on the road it never really had…We built this band completely independently [and] had touring lined up with Monuments / Skyharbor and later NateWantsToBattle. There was real momentum. Two tours fell apart around the pandemic. A hit-and-run involving our touring vehicle and the separate theft of our trailer added to the financial strain, until continuing became impossible. Vespera went quiet publicly for nearly five years.” They are quiet no longer.
The production is bright and clean without being sterile or over-done, and despite the contents appearing over three separate releases originally, there aren’t any inconsistencies in sound. The beginning of the album opener “Sleepless” gives a little “Bleed Black” by AFI opening head-fake before the djenting and clean chorus of the song’s body, with Wolfe’s “for granted” vocal wind-down reminding me of the “I hope you enjoy dying alone” ending of “When One Eight Becomes Two Zeroes” by Glassjaw. “Phoenix Down” follows, a fusion of metalcore and—particularly as regards the music if not vocals of the chorus—Animosity and Seasons-era Sevendust.
“Fading Light” is more of a brooding rock track with some electronic textures, not unlike Young Guns’ 2016 record Echoes, a touchstone that extends to much of the record, in fact. “Obsidian Dreams” opens similarly to “Sleepless,” including the tactical introduction of some djenting, but the star of the show here is the chorus, which contrasts nicely with the heavier parts. One thing that became increasingly apparent to me over repeat listens is this is the track where Wolfe’s strengths as a vocalist really started to become more of a central point of focus.
“Bloom” exhibits significant crossover potential with more of a contemporary hard rock flavor, sans the “butt rock,” with the vocal arrangements really adding depth and a haunting quality. Along with “Vanilla Sky,” this is probably my favorite of the bunch, but re-sequencing the tracks as the band did, and aided atmospherically by what function as interludes in “A Fragile Seed” and the title track, one can “hear the vision,” if you will, of this being a cohesive full album not just a collection of songs with a few notable tracks and a bunch of filler. I’m also impressed by the fact that what on paper could have easily become generic “Octane-core” not only did not, but shows significant potential for this band to really carve a space out for themselves.
PHOTO CREDIT: DUSTIN GENEREAUX