Dying to Meet You

Not as noisy or bizarre as you might expect from a band called Vaz but still nowhere near the rock norm, this New York City duo (by way of Minnesota by way of Los Angeles) culls the energy of SST and Amphetamine Reptile records with ease. That may be because its two members, vocalist/guitarist Paul Erickson (aka Apollo Liftoff) and drummer Jeff Mooridian (aka Deft Garlands aka Dionysius Powerdown) were in post-hardcore noise rockers Hammerhead. Dressed like old-school Roman soldiers on the album cover, Vaz (a "stylistically economical Russian car" among several other offered definitions) produces the dynamics of early Sonic Youth on "Blue Lip Special" while coughing up the type of experimental noise rock shared by Hella and Lightning Bolt. The lyrics come from a morose place, with wordings such as "Beware the creature out of his brain/Impatient vulture, cold as a snake/Cheetahs and panthers, false teeth and guts." It's all very enigmatic. But with a costumed band called Vaz, that's not a surprise.