Album Review: Caulfield - 'Vanity'

Sydney's Caulfield gained some notable attention with their debut EP 'Clarity In The Sea Of Confusion' back in 2010, and have spent their time since then touring heavily and working on new full length 'Vanity.'

The record introduces and asserts itself in the form of 'A Letter To Myself One Year Ago', which while performed very well, world class in fact, leaves a little to be desired in the imagination department. However, even for seasoned bands striking the balance between competency and innovation is a challenging task. Channeling the likes of A Day To Remember the common scream vocals transitioned into clean vocals chorus line is in full swing. Add in some touches of electronica as we move to the second track 'Sour Grape' and the post-hardcore stylistic playlist is nearly all checked off.

As the record moves along the tracks begin to mesh together as there is no variance in guitar tones and little in the way of song structures. It can't be stressed enough how brilliant these guys are at performing this genre of music, the only issue is it has just all been heard before. It's solid music that just needs that added individual kick.

There is great energy and aggression in a lot of the heavier, punk moments of the album, and the use of melody in songs like 'Sweet Defeat' is extremely effective. By the time we reach one of the stand out tracks, 'A Revolution On The Inside', you have resigned to the fact that Caulfield simply refuse to push enough boundaries. Perhaps they are fine with that, maybe they are just honing the craft and style that they enjoy, and that's fine, but it won't make 'Vanity' stand out from the pack.

The end of the record seems to be the heavier section, with ferocious hardcore tracks like 'Time Has Come' and 'Whispers', let down by the track 'Interlude', which should have been left of the album as it does not fit the album's aesthetic at all.

Caulfield deserve credit for effort, performance and execution. This is a band with potential. For a debut, it's a solid offering, you just hope there's more progression going forward.

Caulfield know what they are doing when it comes to post-hardcore, they do it very well, but it is unfortunate that these talents are going to waste making a record that you have already heard plenty of times before. A decent enough effort, let's just hope the band take the promise and continue to develop and push the sound range a little further.

1. A Letter To Myself One Year Ago

2. Sour Grapes

3. Living In Fear Of Loss

4. GYST

5. Something From Nothing

6. Vanity

7. Sweet Defeat

8. A Revolution On The Inside

9. Time Has Come

10. Whispers

11. Interlude

12. Outsiders