Tag Archives: The Vacant Lots

THE VACANT LOTS: Berlin EP.

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On Sunday I finally saw The Vacant Lots live and I’m still in some sort of daze from amazing it was. I reckon anyone who has seen them live or just loves their music will know exactly what I mean. I sometimes find after going to a show, listening to the band afterwards doesn’t always feel right, as if something was missing. Fortunately this did not happen on Sunday and I’ve been constantly listening to The Vacant Lots.

This  Friday their Berlin EP will be released. The record is produced (and mixed) by Anton Newcombe. To have a band I love work with someone I hugely admire is, as a fan, a bloody brilliant thing. It’s perfect, just utterly perfect. Many years ago when I was doing a work placement at a music magazine, I was in the same room as the editor as he interviewed Anton on the phone. We both bonded over our love for him and afterwards were both just in awe of what happened. Fortunately I am shy enough to keep my gob shut and didn’t not chime in with some questions of my own.

The Berlin EP perfectly picks up from where Departure left us. They remain loyal to the sound that I fell in love with a few years ago. The EP is made up of 4 songs that send the listener (regardless of how big a fan they are) into a daze, into a trance. You can shut the world off when you play this record. It takes you to the belly of an underworld that is yet to be found by others. Maybe it truly sums up the sound of Berlin, maybe it sums up the sound and images in your mind. Whatever it sums up, just let it take you there.

The psychedelic artwork is ideal to gaze at as you listen to the songs, especially on Promise Me. The sound that they have created is projected beautifully from Anton’s production. As I listen back to the songs, I can’t help but feel that nobody else but Anton could get this sound. I know people say that perfection doesn’t exist, but they’ve clearly never listened to The Vacant Lots.

The Vacant Lots have a few more shows left in Europe but unfortunately copies of the Berlin EP have sold out. I say unfortunately but I’m proud of them and really happy for them. The Berlin EP is a body of work that oozes dedication, blood, sweat, hours, fears and tears. The songs may torment you but they may also soothe you- just like Departure did. I’ve never been to Berlin, I sometimes feel like the only person in the world who hasn’t, but this record makes me feel like I have and that it is home. Home can be whatever you create in your mind and heart. It can also be wherever a band or record takes you. It’s a feeling, and you can feel it as many times as you want.

Some bands sound better in certain settings, and I think The Vacant Lots are a band that you can carry with you anywhere you go. They are perfect to listen to at 7:30am on the way to work or at 4am when you cannot sleep. They let you dream in your own way. They thrash the insides of your mind with their hypnotic sound. I’ve said it before, but they are one of those bands that make you wish you were in band. They leave you with this feeling as if you just have to do something. But take your time to figure it out.

As mentioned, the Berlin EP is sold out on tour but you might be able to get some copies from Cargo Records if you live in Europe/UK and Forced Exposure if you’re in the states. In my mind they are one of the greatest bands since Suicide. They tear down walls of what is deemed as “normal” or “typical.” On the Berlin EP, Land is the track that really evokes this and is probably one of my favourite songs I’ve heard this year. Not just lyrically do I adore it but the music is so moving. They have this wonderfully ability to tap into your mind, and they do it so beautifully on Land.

Go see them the next time they play near you and allow every part of you to be moved.

THE VACANT LOTS: Moth Club, 20th November 2016.

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Ever waited what seemed an eternity to see a band you absolutely adore? Have you tried to see them previously and things get in your way? Was nothing going to stop you this time? I get it, I really do. It happened twice to me this weekend and I’m going to write about both- starting with last night.

I first wrote about The Vacant Lots around 2 years ago. I wrote about them after spending a few months listening to them prior and trying to process what they meant to me, and how the music made me feel. I’ve probably been too quick at times writing about a band without taking the time to understand what’s going on, but I write as a fan and not some person who’s employed to over hype a load of bullshit gullible souls will buy into. Last night I took myself on a 5 minute bus journey to the Moth Club. The perks of being close to decent venues in a city I’ve grown to dislike. Get me out, please. Live music is my escape for the things that weigh me down. The Vacant Lots felt like something else last night. Whatever happened for that hour or so will stay with me. I wasn’t trapped in a place that harms my mind, it was taken elsewhere. But you want to know about the show, right?

Their set opens with Departure. If this wasn’t going to make the crowd pumped, I really don’t know what would. I was internally praying for High And Low to be played but I was also hoping for Paint This City because that’s on the same level. Paint The City made the set and I’m pretty sure I had my eyes closed for that whole song. When you hear the songs that get you out of any jam your brain traps you in, you do your best to zone out. Zone out was exactly what I did. I felt like no one was around me and everything was as alright as can be.

The Vacant Lots are a fascinating band to watch. As Jared shuts his eyes during the songs, you wonder where his mind is going. Brian’s face expresses so much during certain songs- you identify with everything that is happening on stage because these are the songs that have held you together so for some time. The way Jared prowls about on the stage holding his guitar as if it is a weapon, and at the end of the set bashes it up against the ceiling to create even more noise. Exactly 2 years ago I saw The Jesus And Mary Chain for the first time in Manchester, and I left with a comforting ringing in my ear. Go forward 2 years and it is happening again. Nothing really happened last year, mind. The Vacant Lots are part dreamy, part riot. You don’t know what you’re going to get and they leave you on edge. As someone who has really shit anxiety, I, for some reason find this massively comforting. I didn’t know what to expect during every song and I love that. I love when a band takes you right into the belly of the unknown and away from what surrounds you.

Mad Mary Jones sends everyone off into a whirl but I’m standing by Paint This City being the highlight for me. Some bands, as I’ve mentioned many times before, hold this notion of being something sacred. Something that is your escape, and yours to keep. For me, The Vacant Lots capture this so well. I didn’t make their last London show, but I saw photos of Jared’s bloody guitar. Part of me was hoping for blood last night but I got something better- I saw the real heart of The Vacant Lots.

Their Berlin EP comes out this Friday and I’ll put a review up this week as they are selling copies at their shows this week. If you go see them, buy a copy.

As I mentioned at the start, when you wait so long to see a band you absolutely adore- it means the world to you and it stays with you. I can safely say that this was one of the most emotional and intense shows I’ve been to in a long time.

THE VACANT LOTS.

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“I got me a Cadillac,
I ain’t coming back.”

Today is my mum’s birthday, and with only £30 in my bank account I am pretty much sulking (and sad) that I’ve not seen her as it costs a lot more to fly home to see her . I’m probably turning into some recluse, but for now I don’t really care. I’ve got things to keep me occupied, and with my neighbour being an obnoxious tool again- I’m resorting to playing my music loud enough to drown out his awful dance remixes of Lana Del Rey and fuck knows what else. I wish it would stop.

So, much to my neighbour’s annoyance and my own pleasure, I am currently listening to a band called The Vacant Lots. Yes, they are a duo. What of it? As if you expected anything else from me. The Vacant Lots sound like The Jesus And Mary Chain with hints of Rimbaud in their lyrics. They also remind me of Spiritualized, so basically I’ve just found my dream band. High And Low is my current favourite. The come down in this song is beautiful. As someone who feels low (but not to the point where it is up for discussion with anyone) this is the kind of music that makes it all a little less daunting. Hope can abandon you, and when it does its evil counterpart comes to take over. I thought this only happened in books. Fuck.

The Vacant Lots are a band I am really excited to hear more from, their debut record is set to finally come out this year, and I think they’ve released some stuff via the ever wonderful, Mexican Summer label.

You listen to their music and you’re thrown back into a time where music was pleasantly dark and grimy. The kind of music people were scared to listen to. I always wish I was old enough to have seen The Jesus And Mary Chain live at the start where fights would erupt at the end of the shows; I’m pretty sure if The Vacant Lots were a band back then people would be beating the shit out of each other to their music. However, violence is wrong and disgusting. So you should just listen to them and zone out. Nod your head furiously, as if it might just snap off your body. Let loose and all that jazz.

6AM is dark. A real gnarly song that isn’t for those who are afraid of the dark. The kind of song that makes you feel as if you’re being followed. I’m playing it pretty loudly, and I think it is the way to go. As I listen to The Vacant Lots, I immediately get that feeling I got when I first heard Pop.1280- as if I’m listening to something really menacing. Sacred Bones Records should sign up this duo because they would fit right at home on their label. Any label would be lucky enough to have these guys. They make me wish I had my own label, because this is the kind of stuff I would put out.

Jared and Brian started the band in 2010 I think, and as I’ve gone through what I can find of their music- I can safely say they are on something else. A lot of bands I listen to are quite loud and sinister, but The Vacant Lots take it somewhere else. They pretty much take you where other bands may want to shy away from. I always though Seventeen Seconds by The Cure was one of the most haunting records I ever heard- but as I listen to The Vacant Lots, I’m fairly sure I’ve found a solid competitor. This the kind of music that gives you a high like no other. I’ve never touched drugs (I flinch at having to take paracetamol for my frequent headaches) but I’m positive you can experience a high from other things. From a really good book to music that really shakes you up. The Vacant Lots are that kind of high. I just want them on repeat. The perfect band to listen to as darkness falls.

The hints of reverb in their music is something a lot of bands want to replicate and sound real desperate when they do it. The Vacant Lots do it, and it sounds natural. This is a band with a sure-fire sound. A real solid groove that will probably make most turn their nose up at because they don’t get it. But I get it, and I love it. This is the kind of music I play on a daily basis, and it just does something to me. It is a fearless sound for someone who is sometimes a bit of a coward.

I’m aware I write too personally, and it means hardly anyone reads what I write. So if you’ve skipped over what I’ve written, I get it. But do me one favour, and just click this link and listen to The Vacant Lots because they are one of the best bands around: http://thevacantlots.bandcamp.com

I have no idea when their record is out, but I’m pretty hopeful it’ll be one of the best releases of the year for sure.