It’s been six years since Tom Vek dropped his debut We Have Sound. But while that failed to reach our radar, due mostly to a lack of love for grunge and the garage-band feel, his second offering is by far one of the best albums of 2011.

More gutsy and in your face than the first, Leisure Seizure is as energetic and loud a pop record you’re likely to find. Astonishingly inventive, too, the self-taught multi-instrumentalist Vek, full name Thomas Timothy Vernon-Kell, boasts an awesome talent for rhythm with the use of electro and disco synths, infectious and dominating guitar rifts and a big dose of clattering drums.

It’s the emphasis on the latter that makes for such a addictive and adrenaline-fuelled ride.  Vek’s lo-fi and hooky singing stance oozes effortless cool. Conjuring notions of romantic bitterness, weary resignation and stints of battling loneliness, he connects the otherwise rebellious broth of sounds into coherent treats.

‘Hold Your Head’, the opener, and ‘A Chore’ are big highlights, while the cheeky ‘Aroused’ tinkers with that post-dubstep movement that is so avid right now. ‘A.P.O.L.O.G.Y’, with its drum and bass influence, probably best demonstrates Vek’s fierce obsession for noise, while ‘Close Mic’ed’ is the odd ball.

Like taking a breather from fighting a polo bear, the track raises its hand to minimalistic, ambient electronica with a dominant, elongated synth. Indicating that if Vek wanted to he could delight without the making your heart race. But then again, we’re happy he does.
Words Ali Raymond

——–

Tom Vek website