The culmination of three years of touring and letting life experiences change and nurture their artistry, has led The Vanns to create their most cohesive and dynamic work to date – the long-awaited sophomore record, Last Of Your Kind.
For longtime followers of The Vanns, the album beautifully traces the band’s journey from their 2019 breakthrough debut Through The Walls, as they have grown into one of Australia’s premier touring indie-rock groups.
Last Of Your Kind, thriving in its elevated sense of storytelling and songwriting, positions The Vanns in a bright and dynamic new artistic chapter, perfectly exemplified by the title track, which has been lifted as the band’s new single.
Opening the record, Last Of Your Kind bubbles with intensity and euphoria. Vocally, it is the perfect way to lay down the foundation for the rest of the record ahead.
Beautifully paced guitars and rhythms take the listener through the track, as Jimmy Vann captivates with a vocal quality not unfamiliar with fans of artists including Gang Of Youths, The National, Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene.
“The idea behind Last Of Your Kind and a message throughout the album is living the most fruitful and spontaneous life you possibly can, in saying that, there is also no hiding the fact that we can all hit rock bottom, but you will always make it out the other side,“ The Vanns members said.
“Drop all the walls of questioning what other people may think about you. Embrace being different, embrace being weird and embrace being you, there will never be another… so make you the best version you can.”
As Last Of Your Kind opens further, the breadth of The Vanns sphere of influence becomes more apparent. Stadium-sized sounds and arrangements (Haunted, Feels Good Now) would feel at home in a playbook thumbed by The Killers or The Hold Steady; more intimate moments (Silhouette, Thinkin ‘Bout The Nights) have a Springsteen-esque stamp, while the boldness of the group dynamic simply shines across tracks like Settle Me Down and Collide.
Featuring a slew of tracks fans will have heard over the last 12-24 months including Haunted (which landed itself at #1 on triple J’s Most Played tracks), Feels Good Now, Red Light and their most recent release, Ever, Last Of Your Kind captures The Vanns in a striking period of creativity.
“The four of us have all been through a whirlwind of change in the last couple of years in the making of this record, but we have never been closer as mates,“ they said.
“The recording process was a pretty surreal experience, most of the tracks are nearly all recorded live with us four in a room and some even entirely (vocals and everything). We had our good mate Chris Collins producing this record and it was so tight knit with him, he really got the best out of us being a live band and honing that live energy. So cheers to album number two and many more to come…”
