{"id":29623,"date":"2013-05-20T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2013-05-20T12:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=29623"},"modified":"2014-02-08T08:35:45","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T13:35:45","slug":"hey-vanity-breathe-bleed-grow-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/hey-vanity-breathe-bleed-grow-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Hey Vanity | Breathe, Bleed, Grow<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"HeyHey Vanity is not something you yell at someone looking in a mirror. Rather it is a four-piece indie rock band that hails from Essex in the UK. This guitar-driven quartet has just released their debut EP entitled Breathe, Bleed, Grow<\/em>, and a solid debut it is. A full length album is in the works, and if this EP is an indication \u2013 it will be a good one.<\/p>\n

Elements of indie rock are rolled together with old school guitar rock and even a hint of punk, producing a sound that is distinctly British. The band’s music displays the influences of Weezer, Thrice, and a little Deftones. The five tracks are distinct from one another, and are flush with solid guitar lines, decent hooks and sing-along choruses. Whatever you call it, Hey Vanity’s music is straight up rock, with a simple and homespun feel. The engineering is simple and basic with little electronic tom-foolery, giving the listener a taste of the \u201clive experience\u201d.<\/p>\n

Heavy guitar riffs open the title track, \u201cBreathe, Bleed, Grow.\u201d Solid vocals and well-written lyrics make this one a bit of an ear-worm \u2013 the chorus sinks into your brain and stays there. Energetic drums and bass compliment the excellent backup vocals, making this a truly memorable song. \u201cTerry Tibbs\u201d lives on the driving, bouncing bass and drum line, and a spirited vocal delivery only adds to it. \u201cSame Old Game\u201d continues the upbeat tempo, and has bit of a Paramore feel to it, and the guitars come more to the front.<\/p>\n

\u201cWading Through Dreams\u201d is the standout track on the EP. Great guitar hooks, a toe-tapping chorus, fine vocals, and strong lyrics all combine to demonstrate the massive potential of the boys from Essex. \u201cOne More Step\u201d is a bit harder and grittier than the others, but delivered with equal skill and greater intensity. The band proves that is can do moody as well as any.<\/p>\n

While there is nothing groundbreakingly different on Breathe, Bleed, Grow<\/em>, Hey Vanity’s debut is a solid effort and will have broad appeal. Musically solid and well-performed, Hey Vanity sounds more like a veteran act than a young band, and fans of straightforward rock will find themselves anticipating the release of the full length CD from these UK-based rockers.<\/p>\n

Genre: Indie Rock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMarc Halls (lead vocals, guitar)
\nWill Phillipson (guitar backing vocals)
\nAsh Clarke (drums, backing vocals)
\nDave Ruffle (bass)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tBreathe, Bleed, Grow
\n2.\tTerry Tibbs
\n3.\tSame Old Game
\n4.\tWading Through Dreams
\n5.\tOne More Step<\/p>\n

Label: Small Town Records<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.heyvanity.com<\/a>, https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/heyvanityuk<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 7.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Joe Mis – Senior Columnist — Hey Vanity is not something you yell at someone looking in a mirror. Rather it is a four-piece indie rock band that hails from Essex in the UK. […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":29624,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,7556,334],"class_list":{"0":"post-29623","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-indie-rock","10":"tag-review"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29623","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29623"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29623\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29624"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29623"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29623"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29623"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}