Vanishing

Every once in awhile you come across a band that has an indescribable appeal. You discover them, become obsessed and sometimes you maintain an interest for years to come. Vanishing have the potential to be one of these bands. On Still Lifes are Failing, the San Francisco trio mixes dark music forms in fantastically unconventional ways. Using everything from menacing synth sounds to real drums and saxophones, their sound effectively spans across a wide variety of genres. "Lovesick” and "Cuckoo Spit” incorporate blatant punk elements, while "Still Lifes” showcases the industrial edge to their sound. Elements of noise music and dark wave are also scattered throughout the disc in seductively drawn-out tracks such as "8.18.” The group highlight their political side as well, most obviously occurring in the "Lovers in Hell,” where "anti-war in Iraq” clips enhance the raw vocals. This is the group’s second release and with any luck, there will be more to come.