Elizabeth
“Where Vultures Land”
2012
Energetic, bizarre and wild is how I would describe this release in a nutshell. All the songs have an old school punk element which is wrapped in a thrash overtone on a hardcore bed, and they are short enough to be enjoyed without wearing the listener out. And for a punk band they show a decent musical skill, all while retaining the minimal effect that punk shows in riffing. Vocals are a bit poor, they have respectable endurance and it blends well with the music, but personally I still don’t like it. The songs stand-alone of each other, they don’t sound like they have been ripped out from the same song template, which is quite a remarkable feat for the minimal element that punk can produce.
The production is actually very good, crisp and audible without any messy artefacts. Not muddy at all, and considering the drums are rather intense, it’s surprising that they don’t sound all over the place. Although I did mention my displeasure with the vocals, I can’t deny that even they are recorded in a decent manner. And the album is mixed so well it should stand as an example for other bands to follow.
The artwork, I don’t know what is really going there, the topless figure’s head is clearly showing a Middle Eastern element (and the gun doesn’t help) along with a smashed car. It seems like mad max meets the Middle East. I can understand that it is a place where vultures could land indeed but that’s as far as I can make any sense out of it. Even the titles indicate poor correlation with each other. So they ultimately sound good but look weird. But hey, boobs, no one complains there right? Incidentally it indicates the band’s edgy nature.
Will I listen to it again? I might, this band has a lot to offer and shows a fresh breath in the musical elements they mixed together. Now if only they get less confusing in their context.
Tracklist:
1. Darkness
2. The Call
3. Sharp Teeth And Knives
4. Sailor’s Grave
5. Candles
6. Black Eyed
7. Heartbeats
8. Rising Kingdom
Favorite track is #7
https://www.facebook.com/elizabethpunk
Members:
Charly Boson – Guitars
Javier Varela – Vocals
Baptiste Lambert – Bass
Matthieu Baumann – Drums
Rating: 7 out of 10
~Carnivean