Vaux's last release, "There Must Be Some Way to Stop Them," was a full-length ride through greasy, heavy rock and roll with a nod towards metal and hardcore. Single-worthy material like "Shot in the Back," "Set It To Blow," "Switched On," "Do It For Sixty" and "Four Cornered Lives" saturated the album.
Logic would dictate that a five-song EP, "Plague Music," would be packed with hot jams.
There's a reason they call it "logic."
"Plague Music" basks in the same spotlight that Connecticut hardcore band With Honor did on their first release. By limiting the disc to 16 minutes, it not only demands a stricter attention on individual songs, but also allows more "bang for the buck," per se. If it weren't for the title track, the EP would barely eclipse eleven minutes. Roger Bannister wouldn't break a sweat.
"Plague Music" shows aspects of Vaux that were on exhibit on "There Must Be Some Way to Stop Them" and explores new depths as well. Vocalist Quentin Smith's lyrics face tough topics head-on and attempt blunt, rapid punch knockouts.
On "Celibate Good Times," Smith rips into pedophiliac clergy members with a scathing chorus, "Forget the cross, worship the gun/ You're at the gates and almost home/ Bang bang/ I hope your hell is hot enough."
With this, Smith accomplishes something terribly difficult: A fiery attack on religion without all encompassing hate for every believer. Maybe he didn't have time for pure hate or maybe he was just keeping it concise.
Or maybe he was thinking about sex. Sex resounds through "Plague Music" like, well, a plague. Both "Dearest Darkest" and "Sex Will Happen Tonight" have that sort of dingy one-night-stand charm.
As Chuck Palahniuk might say, "'Charm' isn't the right word, but it's the first word that comes to mind."
Photo: Courtesy of Matthew Messina, from the RMBERS' Instagram page
