If this demo was a lolly, it would be a packet of expensive English toffee. You'd be cramming your mouth with the gorgeous stuff, wanting more and more. And not feeling sick afterwards. Giving us a sugar-hit are Follow The Vann, a four-piece band from Melbourne, led by Nick Vann (vocals, acoustic guitar) with Hugh Counsell (guitar, keys and synth), Callum Reeves (bass) and Ross McMahon (drums). Apart from eating toffee, we've also been transported back to the 80s as the first song 'Step Up' blasts out of our pastel-coloured plastic boombox. Sounds like a classic 80s pop band. With their controlled and appealing 'English' vocals, it's an incredibly catchy song and should be a huge hit, in this decade (or any other one). 'Ask Mr Jangles' and '31 In The Sun' are both fantastic pop songs with lots of memorable hooks and tasty melodies. 'Little Black Book' is pop-song-structure-by-numbers which kicks in with a great chorus that brings back memories of high-period XTC. In the Follow The Vann bio they excuse themselves with 'it's a bit of a retro sound'. Don't excuse yourself boys! It's top-shelf music. followthevann
'Room In The Dark' seems to make a bit of social commentary with the lyrics 'like Adolf Hitler, like Rupert Murdoch, like Walt Disney, like McDonalds, like Eminem.' 'Mr Making It' reminds me a bit of Captain Sensible's classic Women And Captains First album and also Robyn Hitchcock with a bit of Steve Kilbey thrown in for good, lazy music journalism! There's a very uniform sound to Follow The Vann with everything in its place - just the right amount of strummy guitar (both acoustic and electric) and keyboard colouring on all the eight songs (which were recorded in 2002-2003 and all arranged, engineered and produced by guitarist Hugh - a job extremely well done!). They all go by very quickly as all the songs are between 2-3 minutes in length. "You've got to hear this band!" I exclaimed to Ben when he arrived at the HAC office. Ben was quick off the mark with his appraisal of Follow The Vann: "Good recording, you can hear everything really well. That first song is an instant hit. Very Triple J friendly. It's good to hear vocals still holding onto their Australian accent." See? Different strokes. I thought they were very 'English'. We still couldn't quite work out who they reminded us. Maybe no one in particular, and it doesn't matter, as ultimately they have their own sound, a bunch of perfect pop songs and a huge future in front of them. -ND
contact: nfavann@hotmail.com
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