Right alongside a stellar upcoming single and 2018 LP on the esteemed Beach Impediment label, NYC's VANITY offer up another double A-sider for Feel It. "Anticlimax" rolls out of the gate with a cool, Stones-esque confidence, resting on the otherworldly lead guitar of "Groovy" Mike Liebman (formerly of VEXX and RIK & THE PIGS). This irresistibly catchy, glammed-out rocker is backed up with "A Seat at the Table" quickening the pace atop a brilliant walking bass line. While VANITY have excelled in everything from Oi! to Britpop in their fascinating time as a band, both the songwriting and production on this single may be VANITY's highest mark yet. Edition of 400 packaged in a glue pocket sleeve with insert. Our take: Anticlimax is the brand new two-song single from this New York band. While Vanity has covered a lot of stylistic ground (they started as an oi! band and made forays into Britpop and 70s Stones-inspired rock), Anticlimax feels like a band settling into their own sound. My favorite part of these two tracks is the intricate, Byrds-y guitar lines that run through both. The two guitarists both play complex lines that are both psychedelic and melodic, and I love listening to them wriggle around one another while a big, glam-inspired vocal hook also competes for my attention. There are elements here of everything Vanity has done so far—the energy of the punk stuff, the baroque textures and big melodies of their Britpop-style record, and the swagger of their Stones-inspired previous album—so if you’ve enjoyed anything they’ve done over the past few years I’d give this a listen.
