At El Garaje we have been following the evolution of the darkwave project Vexillary since we discovered his music a few years ago, and we are happy to see how far he has gone with his second album, Crash and Yearn, released only eleven months after his previous Full Frontal Lunacy. Although his new logo could make us think that the New York producer has started to make extreme metal, we couldn’t be more wrong, as this new work moves in a more darkwave and commercial direction that could already be appreciated in his previous work.
If Full Frontal Lunacy had madness as its central theme, here we have the myth of Icarus flying over the album. As a novelty we have a bigger prominence of the vocals, done perfectly by Baylee and Reza himself. The EBM influences have given way to a more techno sound, sometimes with a nineties flavour. This is how I could describe the first track “Come As your Madness” where Baylee’s sensual performance reminds me of the electronica I used to dance to when I was young, while the fast-paced rhythms bring me back to the present. It’s a catchy track and one of the best on the album. The beginning of “Haute Cadaver” takes me back to that 90’s electronica, but then goes in a different direction. On vocals, with a lot of effects, we have Reza in this quite original track. Baylee returns for the frenetic “Crash and Yearn” where her poppy voice contrasts with the techno music. “Skull Trot” is one of the instrumental tracks on the album, punchy and powerful, perfect to get you pumped up before you leave your house. In “Bullet” we have again the sensual and mysterious voice of Baylee facing a machine-like and fast music. “Le Diable” is another frenetic track with a great vocal performance with oriental vibes in the chorus. “Hot Seat” is the other instrumental with moments that sound like a videogame soundtrack. We approach the end with the beautiful melody of “Bow Down” and a great performance by Baylee. And we finish with the more relaxed and dramatic “The Fall”, a perfect ending to this fantastic Crash and Yearn.
Finally, we’d like to announce that next year, El Garaje de Frank will release a split with one side featuring tracks by the New York producer, although knowing how prolific Reza is, we’ll surely have heard his third album first. When we decided to release what we hope will be our label’s first album, we had no doubt that we wanted to have Vexillary as one of the protagonists.
