Canadian band Vogue Villains has revealed Built on Bones, a debut album that sets them up as a powerhouse in a dark universe. Review.
BUILT ON BONES – VOGUE VILLAINS
It’s through an alternative rock infused with strong and well-defined atmospheres that Vogue Villains attracts their prey in the lair that Built On Bones is. In just under an hour, the band is setting up the court and rules. It’s then up to us, listeners, to follow them carefully… and instinctively. A Slow Ride (At The Speed Of Light) is contrasted, by its name to its two complementary atmospheres. The first one vibrates through each throat-gripping riff. The second is made of darkness and smoke, slower and surprising.
Those are the rules of this record, made partly of powerful tracks, efficient and to the point, and partly of deeper and a lot longer songs with epic bits. As soon as the second track, Built On Bones, other clues are confirming this over five minutes, between its wild solo and chill singing. The band doesn’t hesitate to try and go further, reaching just above seven minutes for Long Live Immortality! and Only Human. Besides these adventures, Vogue Villains also loves quick hits and efficient and memorable bangers. Among them are Wrong Side of Midnight, Halo, Bleed and Taste Like Sin. Other slower tracks are also in, like the hypnotic Pretty Gorgeous.
Whether it’s on the dark Floatin’ Stone, the closer-to-metal Terrify, or the intriguing Needle Tooth Grin, the band never stops sculpting incredible spaces for their story. That story is one of accountability, yours and the one of others. It’s about being the villain in your own story. And it’s about accepting and rebuilding a world. Vogue Villains chose to do so with passion, bones and blood, and Built On Bones is the result of it all. A very good album, human and powerful.
