Band:	VAST
Album:	Bang Band Sixxx - Relay
Style:	Rock
Release date:	January 2009

01. I Know How To Love
02. Lift Me Up
03. Loneliness Is Fine
04. Slow
05. It's Been So Long
06. Straight Into End

"Bang Band Sixxx - Relay" is a new EP from the extremely prolific Jon Crosby, otherwise known as the leader of VAST. What makes it special is that it is finally some new material actually released under the VAST moniker, instead of being included in the alarmingly vast catalog of solo material the man releases under his own name. VAST is about to release a full album in the near future as well and if the new EP is to be any indication as to the quality of this LP, the fans should be satisfied.

"Bang Band Sixxx - Relay" is a thoroughly enjoyable and consistent little EP filled with somewhat calm and classy industrial rock based around a concept taken from a novel under the same name. So, OK, the concept is pretentious to say the least, since it revolves around a futuristic world where everything is available for free and as a consequence people no longer feel love. Thankfully, Crosby and his band generally treat this concept without overt pathos and panache, with the EP being more akin to a short vignette about a single relationship in a world filled with technology and not an overwrought operatic disaster of epic proportions. The lyrics are clever too, with the best song here also having the most thought provoking lines: "Feels like emptiness when I go out at night/Feels like loneliness and loneliness is fine/Feels like emptiness but this emptiness is mine". The musical direction of the EP is similarly restrained, with all songs offering midtempo electronic rock music with the consistent video-game quality that pervades through the sound contrasting with Crosby's excellent moody vocals, creating a strange concoction of bubblegum and darkness. The album is also produced impeccably with pristine clarity and all of this adds to the feeling that this is a very highly stylized piece of work.

"Bang Band Sixxx - Relay" is an EP that through its brevity achieves a very satisfying consistency and focus. I cannot imagine that the story here would work as a full concept album and it is very wise to keep it as short and succinct as it is.