Helioscope

VINYL FORMAT. Comes with a CD copy of the album! The sophomore full-length from Leeds-based five-piece Vessels, recorded with Grammy-nominated producer John Congleton (Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You, Modest Mouse) in the heat of the Texan summer, Helioscope is the sun-scorched yin to the yang of the snow-capped peaks of their 2008 debut, White Fields and Open Devices. Where its predecessor was a studied exercise in structure that played many a post-rock trump card, this nine-song collection is free and loose, though hardly rough-edged or shabby of design. The cunningly crafted motifs and melodies burrow deep into the synapses with little resistance. The build-and-break dynamics of the debut are complemented by a greater appreciation of technology and the possibilities afforded by the modern recording process. Beats and loops aren't restricted to the margins, but instead are as vital to the mix as anything deemed "organic." It rocks, sure. But only those with two left feet and tinnitus couldn't dance to many of its cuts.

While White Fields was a feeler, a toe in the water, Helioscope is a dive headfirst into the deep end. Nothing off limits, alll ideas welcomed, happy accidents present and correct. If its opening moments punish, fear not - for when the dazzling thunder of "Monoform" and "The Trap" has dissipated, the band looks to the clear skies and points toward the stars for "Recur." As Tom Evans and Lee Malcolm trade lyrics, guitars chime with a celestial resonance. Guest Stuart Warwick's (the artist formerly known as Jacob's Stories) haunting lead vocal on first single "Meatman, Piano Tuner, Prostitute" takes the Vessels closer to what could be called mainstream - but with a title like that, it's obvious that crossover isn't the clearest vision in their crystal ball. And they're all the better for it. The singular tone of Helioscope imprints itself like bleached-out blurs on the retinas of those who can't quit looking up. Rightly so - looking down is cold, dark, miserable. Here, heat and passion are perfectly realized as the light that guides all come every dawn.