Prepare yourself for a musical journey that’s short, sweet, and only shoots upwards. Introducing The Vonics, a band from the Midlands that’s about to make some ripples. With a ton of talent, intent, and vision, they bring us their sophomore EP, The World Can Wait.
The Vonics aim to blend in a number of genres and styles to create their own original sound, and quite honestly, that didn’t show itself to me right away. The guys are blending elements of Rock, modern and classic, with elements of Punk, some of Pop and with some Country thrown on top, and a hint of Blues for good measure. As a person who was weaned on Rock and Blues, on first listen, I could scarcely hear anything but Rock on Blues, it took me a second listen to hear the Punk and the Pop, and on the third one, I started tasting the Country.
This unique and extensive hybrid of styles is achieved in a very efficient and intelligent way, with little to nothing in terms of interruptions, forced clichés, or loaded ideas, the effect is organic and fresh. They achieve this, in my opinion with, primarily, solid songwriting and masterful production, needless to mention, the amazing performances from the 5-piece themselves. The starter, Nothing to Gain starts out quite Punk. But this punk is then adorned with a tight mix, nuanced guitar work with a delicious lightly overdriven tone. The amazing guitar tones are consistently brilliant throughout the EP. Nothing to Gain smartly builds on its Punk foundations with Rock solid performances and a peppy Pop attitude. This recipe is developed further on the next song, The Drugs Can Do, this time the base is unabashed Pop. Bright, trebly, fast-paced, and cheerful, the Rock is then added to the pot in the form of solid thumping beats and a 4-on-the-floor driving feels to all the orchestration, calling to mind Steppenwolf or a lighter version of the 70s Deep Purple, very Classic Rock, very organic and fresh.
Now that the recipe is kind of laid down in front of us, we can start to apply it to the other songs. Hypnotic is Rock being injected with the Blues. On paper, Hypnotic is a straightforward song. introspective lyrics that are only a little about a hypnotic, exotic, psychotic person, solid minor tonality throughout, with a solo loaded with blues phrases, there’s a lot to love, but it sounded to my ears like the most predictable offering on the album. Luck Comes Around is a cheerful and upbeat cut that’s a little more on the Rock side of the album. Sing The Blues Away is Country-Pop galore. With cheerful lyrics and a syrupy composition. Goodbye starts a little like The Beatles’ A Hard Day’s Night, an excellent nod, then quickly shift to mild disco Rock with a horn section and shuffling beats.
There can be no denying that The Vonics are very talented and are so passionate about what they do. It shows in every instrumental line and vocal phrase. The voice, the tasty guitars, the solid rhythm section, and the wonderfully coherent production are all things that elevate this album far above the average. A release full of fuel and power that we can’t recommend enough.
