2011 Releases Highlight – Vaz – Chartreuse Bull (Damage Rituals / Sleeping Giant Glossolalia)

“Chartreuse Bull” is a fourth studio album from New York band Vaz  – rhythm section of AmRep act Hammerhead. Its their first album in 6 years – a follow-up to to 2005 “Lies That Matches The Furniture“.
Coincidentally, Hammerhead reunited last year and released Memory Hole EP.

For the style of noisy, interesting riff-heavy songs, you usually get a RRORRRRORORORAGGHHHHHHHH singer, but with Vaz, you get a guy that kinda sounds like the dude from Masters of Reality (not the Sabbath record, the stoner rock pop band). I always complain about too many bands’ vocals in aggressive music being one of those two-meter exhaust vent flaws keeping them from being something great. (I’d say that there are tons of post-punk bands with this flaw to name, but they escape me).
I can’t stand the RRRRROROROROOGHHHHH singers, yet more often than not I think the guitar/bass/drum music being created is fantastic. Vaz has a singer that sounds nothing like any other in hybrid post-punk guitar heavy music. At first, it was almost offputting, because I was expecting the flaw. But what I got was a singer who can sing! How goddamn refreshing!
ShortWaveRockin

Tracklist
1. Chartreuse Blues
2. Blockade
3. The 2nd
4. Z Train
5. Cutter
6. Sine Language
7. Prepare To Dive
8. Clone Theory
9. Throttle
10. Sickle
You can stream the entire album via Bandcamp or buy a vinyl version of the album via Sleeping Giant Glossolalia. cassette edition of the album from Damage Rituals  is sold out.
Reviews: Pitchfork | ShortWaveRockin | MVRemix