Vin "Ephemeral Horizons" Review
Review by: Cameron Christopherson, Writer @Cameron_Christopherson
Edited by: Andrew Perrizo, Owner/Editor @PlaylistTC
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Minnesota does not lack musical diversity. But four-piece progressive rock outfit Vin certainly breaks the mold of the Twin Cities sound and delivers a sound like no other. Made up of Jacob Scully on drums, Gordon Dufresne on guitar and vocals, Jason McComb on guitar and backing vocals, and Kevin Buschkowsky on bass, Vin has been actively releasing and performing since early 2017. Their early output features incredible displays of musicianship and a burgeoning compositional hand. Already on their 2017 self-titled EP, Vin was compiling a catalog of impressively angular riffs. Their debut LP, Granule, introduced a dreamier, math-rock inspired soundscape to the already reverb drenched style of progressive rock.
Ephemeral Horizons is a melting pot of past works, combining an intoxicating airy atmosphere with dissonant and crushing guitar riffs. The opening track, “Light Floods the Forest,” displays this congruent pairing perfectly. A slow simple single note guitar line opens the song, but it does not stay simple for long. New riffs are added every few seconds, each changing the groove and feel of the first. As the vocals kick in, a more stable groove emerges, paving the way for Gordon Dufresne’s dreamy Thom Yorke-esque vocal delivery. As soon as the listener is lulled into the comforting drone of the song, the bass and guitar syncopate in a crushing breakdown. A complete divergence from the precedent the track had been building and a perfect kickoff to the album.
Much of Ephemeral Horizons, as its title may suggest, plays off of transience. When I asked the band what inspired them to write this LP, they explained that they began brainstorming during the COVID lockdowns in 2020. “Much of this record began to take shape late 2020/ early 2021, in a time where everything felt like it stood still. In a way, life is made up of ephemeral moments intertwined and connected. This record explores some of those concepts, those temporal moments of love/ life/ grief/ anxiety/ anger; some feeling like they last forever, and others only for a moment, but all a part of our existence.” While these themes are explored plenty lyrically, I believe they are best exemplified through the dynamic song structures the band has developed. Dreamy and serene moments collapse violently inwards, leaving only a furious and anxious hole where they used to exist. “False Hour,” my favorite track on the album, combines each of these elements. The verses, sober reflections on ephemerality, are paired with reverb drenched clean guitar tones. The hook turns to ruminations on the destruction this transience brings, fittingly paired with an extremely aggressive instrumental backing.
Some tracks, like “Blight” deal more explicitly with anger and grief. The track opens with a crushing and angular guitar riff, coupled with a sparse but driving bassline that keeps the groove centered. The lyrics throughout the album are incredibly strong and stand out especially on this track. Right before the violent aggression of the track opens into yet another waterfall of clean guitar layers, Dufrensne’s frantically screamed vocals recite: “A noose Wrapped around your throat, Cutting loose ends, Choked with the last words spoke, Cutting loose ends, Choked with the last words spoke” The delivery perfectly pairs the haunting presence of the lyrics. I could not get these lines out of my head after finishing this record. “Erasure” opens similarly, exploding into the body of the track, where Dufresne’s vocals are paired with an impressively low death growl.
When I took guitar lessons as a kid, a tip my instructor gave me was to always break a pattern the third time you play it, so the audience recognizes the pattern and immediately has their expectation upended. Vin has mastered this technique. During more serene and atmospheric passages, they make use of the droning, often hypnotic effect of repetition. “Ephemeral,” the longest track on the album, repeats riffs for minutes before the band switches into a new section. The more aggressive parts of the album often switch up seemingly instantaneously. As “Swelter,” the albums closer, builds, new elements emerge in the mix, redefining the original riff again and again. These tracks either suspend or upend your expectations immediately.
Perhaps Vin’s strongest quality is the interplay between rhythm and harmony sections. A track like “Mandala,” who's already unique chord progression is complimented perfectly by a tom heavy drum groove and absolutely infectious bass fills. Buschkowsky refuses to stick to root notes and always finds a harmonic or rhythmic pairing that enhances each track.
Vin’s sound is undefinable. Although I’ve mostly referred to it as progressive rock, the group cannot be held in a box. Similarly to the transience of the soundscapes they masterfully construct on Ephemeral Horizons, Vin’s sound is always evolving. One song may build around a riff reminiscent of basement emo bands like bulletsbetweentongues, or sinema, while others make use of math rock rhythms, or jazz inspired extensions. The landscape of change and transience we are thrust into keeps changing, Vin constantly reminds us of the ephermeral horizons we breach again and again.
