What makes for a commercial sound these days? The sound that will actually sell records. The sound that will capture the hearts of the masses and get them to part with their pill money and spend it on music instead. That’s a question that might well be answered by Belfast band Vanilla Gloom.
Their EP “Vexed” has but three songs. Three songs and yet you can feel the urge to put the pennies in their collective pockets. It’s an impact thing when you think about it. You get laconic vocals, some surprisingly effective female harmonies and a healthy helping of grungy guitars and that’s more than enough to tempt the ears and, almost consequently, it is no great stretch of the imagination to think of Vanilla Gloom - Shannon Delores O’Neill, Megan O’Kane and Grace Leacock - as the kind of band that Dave Grohl would adopt (much as Jack White adopted The Black Belles).
“Lemons and Wine” stands out as the song that could cause you to crash your car but there is little to complain about in either “Vultures” or “Wolves” and, all things considered, it is remarkable how polished these three women sound. Not for them the slapdash distortion of indie rock and they instead substitute an almost American level of professionalism.
What’s not to like here? Close to nothing.