VASA are a band with little interest in following trends. The Glasgow four-piece’s solely instrumental sound is unlike anything on the Scottish circuit: highly technical with a particular emphasis on colossal riffs.
However, they’re also a lot more energetic than their instrumental post-rock peers. Taking their cue from Belfast behemoths And So I Watch You From Afar, as well as catchy indie outfits like Foals, the band are no slouches in the hook department.
Their debut album Colours is aptly named, presenting an intensely positive musical experience that has depth and replay value.
As well as Colours receiving an almost unanimous thumbs-up from critics, the band managed to sell out the launch show last week in Glasgow. In a city that’s filled to the brim with grey post-punk miserablists, the upbeat instrumental rockers appear fluorescent by contrast.
“Being instrumental, we tend to get pigeon-holed a lot,” says bassist John Niblock. “Sometimes we’re labelled as post-rock or math-rock, but we’re happy to settle for just ‘rock’.
“We write heavy rock songs with catchy riffs. Everything is deliberately in-your-face and hard-hitting from the off. Except for the occasional palette-cleanser, our album doesn’t leave much room for respite.”
Being an instrumental band from Glasgow, various critics have drawn comparisons with Mogwai. In some ways this seems lazy – where Mogwai apply space and texture, Vasa apply a sledgehammer.
Tracks like the jaw-dropping lead single Fat Ronaldo exemplify this, with punchy and powerful guitar motifs immediately grabbing the listener’s attention. Not unlike Mogwai, however, Niblock and his bandmates also rely on groove to get their point across.
“Our biggest improvement on the LP is probably how in sync we now are, particularly with bass and drums,” says Niblock. “I’ve seen so many flashy bands that are technically gifted, but nothing matches up groove-wise. They just batter their instruments to the point where it’s hard to follow.
“Don’t get me wrong, we spend a lot of time on decorative things like guitar effects. I took a photo at the end of our album recording and our guitarist had used around 35 pedals – just a graveyard of pedals lying on the floor.”
The band certainly made full use of them last week when they triumphantly launched their album in the city’s The Old Hairdressers. The show was so packed-out that the band even had to start sneaking people into the venue.
“I’m still shocked when I go into a room and see how many people have come to see us,” says Niblock. “We had around 140 people in a room capped to 120 – it was easily one of the best shows we’ve done. We played to our home city and recognised virtually nobody in the crowd. That’s mental.”
Pre-release, the band also completed their first European tour – not bad for a small Scottish band only four years into existence. The highlight was Lille, where Niblock was blown away by the dedication of the French audience.
He says: “It was amazing to see how much attention we received. Nobody was on their phones – they were there to see us. On some dates we were provided with meals and a fridge full of beer backstage. I swear that I’ve no idea how we swung that.”
For all the humility, though, Vasa have more than earned this degree of support and respect. After years of relentless touring, the band have crafted an LP that captures a whole spectrum of moods and emotions.
Colours is not only a fine debut effort, it’s also arguably the most vivid rock record released in Scotland this year. You can sample it yourself at Broadcast, Glasgow this Wednesday.
Colours is out now on Black Sheep Records.
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