Album Review: Vaults Make You Enter Their World In Debut “Caught In Still Life”

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On December 2, Vaults will release its wonderfully imaginative debut: Caught In Still Life. The London Trio have spent the last year trying to gather the buzz around their desert, electronica symphonies to create a record that fully capsulated their sound. This may sound like a natural goal for  any artist: to make a record that embodies their sound. Yet, Vaults is a trio of musicians brimming with creativity that seems otherworldly in source. 
Poison

//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsIt is not easy to capture so much talent and broad mindfulness into one group and then one record. Yet, Vaults have managed to create a fluid soundscape that waves into your ears and heart like the Northern Lights of Iceland. Their beats bounce like this phenomena’s rare, neon stars, while their lyrics mystify with their capacity to show life as an earthly gem that can shine even in darkness. The result is 12 tracks that feel as if they should not be as good as they are or as intimate. When you think of electronica/ electro-pop, you might only think of dancing. This is far from a bad thing as we all need escapism, but this mind-altering genre’s effects are usually left to its rhythms. Yet, Vaults want both their sounds and words to create a different level of sonic awareness that can feel inter-dimensional. By caring as much for their lyrics as their beats, Vaults’ Caught In Still Life comes of like a galactic narration into universal sentiment.

The beauty and strangeness of being alive is how common life, as a force, can be with its nuances. Every species on earth has relationships, whether they be parental, communal, or even love. Moreover, every species on this earth tries to create, protect, and thrive for its survival. These are the universal themes that seem bound to Life’s essence, and are what motivate Vaults to build a record that feels like an electrically sounded vortex into that universality. It is as if Caught In Still Life is a musical museum to the ebbs and flows of humanity. From the abandonment of a lover (“Orphan”) to feeling like abandoning yourself (“Hurricane”), in revealing the loneliness and love that courses through human hearts, Vaults shows that the human spirits are not simply multi-layered but multi-dimensional. One human being can carry worlds of passions and doubts, which is a theme etched by the powerful vocals of Blythe.

Cry No More

//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsBlythe has a voice that does not sing but SINGS (in caps lock). Her range feels like a rocket soaring amongst stars of emotions. She can hit a high note that spears through any barrier you could, potentially have at trying not to like Vaults’ sounds. On Blythe’s vocals, alone, you have every reason to buy Caught In Still Life. The sheer power of her voice is an unrelenting force throughout the album that assures as you dance to songs like,  “Bloodflow” or “Paradise”. you also feel. Yet, in songs like, “Poison” or “Bodies”, the lighter rhythms and melodies feel like Blythe is opening a window into the freshness of your sentimental wounds. Some hurts do not heal fully, and Blythe has a voice that shows the vulnerability of such emotional scars. Thus, the noble goal of Vaults is for you to have a complete sensory experience through their music. Caught In Still Life is an album to move your body, mind, and soul with vividly, fascinating images painted through music and stunningly, wise narrations sung by Blythe’s “life-giving” voice.  

Midnight River

//cdn.embedly.com/widgets/platform.jsClearly, I loved the album, but, more importantly, I admired it. It is not everyday that you can hear the amount of work, thoughts, and love that went into a record. Yet, in trying to show their distinct, visionary sound, Vaults revealed through Caught In Still Life their artistic heart, and it is one worth every beat! For More Information On Vaults And To Buy  Caught In Still Life On December 2 Click Here. 

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