ALBUM REVIEW: Hypervigilance – The Vigil

Alternative UK rock trio THE VIGIL are back with their sophomore record, Hypervigilance, recorded at Rockfield studios with GINGER WILDHEART producer Dave Draper at the helm. With Olly Smith on vocals and guitar, Rhys James on bass and backing vocals and Jamie Davenport on drums, the record is to be released through their own label, Fever Dog Records.

THE VIGIL aim to play with passion and heart, taking a DIY approach to their sound, having recorded the album in just three days in spring 2019. The record kicks off with Out of Plans, a track brimming with attitude. The distorted guitars and smashing cymbals hail NIRVANA straight away, with simple harmonies and Smith’s relaxed vocal style adding to this effect. Fuel To Burn has a choppier sound though with added groove, and emulates the same laid back attitude of the 90s. Above The Stone thunders in with a chugging guitar and bass line, creating a heavier sound still muddied with tasteful distortion. Kurt Cobain’s ‘hey!’ can clearly be heard throughout this one. Then at long last, we get a proper riff! The intro to Sink or Swim makes it sound like this is going to be a stand out track but it ultimately blurs into the same format and sound as previous songs.

It’s hard to really discuss the musicality in-depth, because the band stick to an extremely simplistic way of doing things, from the lyrics themselves and the song structure to their actual playing. That’s not to say they’re bad musicians, but there’s nothing really standing out here. Not every song needs to be a 10+ minute epic for it to be worth listening to, but there is something to be said for the fact that every song is around the three minute mark or shorter, with only around 100 words in the lyrics to each song.

Phantom Limb follows suit with Smith’s droning vocals, but this time adds a little more variation in the vocal melody. Tattooed Mannequin continues the same way, rehashing grunge with little originality. The monotony of his voice does indeed work really well for this genre, but it would be great to expand this and hear some more energy. The lyrics of Three Monkeys are the most simple yet, following the pattern of “see no evil, hear no, speak no evil”. You can definitely hear the seemingly random lyrical phrasing which is very similar to NIRVAVA lyrics, except Kurt Cobain probably actually had a serious and deeper meaning for what he wrote, and we’re not sure these guys do. World Away is the most stand out track, boasting a solid riff with less distortion to create a clearer sound, and even the vocals are a bit crisper here.

There’s nothing wrong with this record per se, but it’s definitely lacking any true substance and power. Hypervigilance is what it is, a simple grunge record. If you are a die-hard grunge fan and keen to wrap your ears around anything that sounds remotely like NIRVANA, give this a spin. It would be awesome to see these guys develop their songwriting and add some complexity whilst still keeping things in this laid back 90s style. There is potential here musically, so let’s see what these guys do in future.

Rating: 5/10

Hypervigilance is out now via self-release.

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