Vows
Soon Enough Love
Reviewed by: Ziggy Merritt
Summer, the season where a fine majority of the population will be desperately seeking any method of cooling off whether that be a revived round of ice bucket challenges or a pricey trip to the water park. But for the days where the malaise and encompassing heat of the sun have you trapped on a (hopefully) shaded patio, Vows’ members Jeff Pupa, James Hencken, and Sabeel Azam have provided a fitting soundtrack in their latest LP, Soon Enough Love.
Their first album recorded under the haze of the summer months, Soon Enough Love is a trip through dreamy delirium from start to finish. The comforting throb of jangly guitars and the occasional electronic organ or harpsichord offers a pleasant, if occasionally aimless distraction, but not right away.
The opening few tracks, “Futuis Eam” and “Day to Day” are stacked and layered with an often overwhelming amount of psychedelic instrumentation that blends surf rock riffs and rhythms with fine layers of synth. Often enough each of these layers, individually, are well executed, but particularly within “Futuis Eam” the forthcoming vocals and guitar drown out the sound in an altogether jarring way. In a sense, they feel crowded and even uncomfortable at times.
I find this is perhaps due to the pacing as the slower tempo of “Candy” and “The Snake” work wonders in solving this dilemma. The result is a more stripped down, subdued feel that feels apropos with the theme and even the timing of this release. These ideas have more time to grow. giving tracks like “The Snake” time to develop into something akin to the sly sliver of a snake through the grass, marked by the steady, punctuated rhythm of guitar and drums.
What I took from Soon Enough Love was a number of fantastic thoughts that occasionally misfire when placed together. Vows are at their best here when they slow the motions down and give room for their creation to breathe. There’s plenty to love here and it shows promise for a band in the midst of a summertime experiment.
Rating: Listenable
