Review Summary: This is an album of brilliance.
The name Jon Crosby might not ring a bell, nor should it. While a few tracks have made appearances in various films the man behind VAST has never been one to seek or obtain the spotlight. Released during a time of change in the industrial and alternative music genre's, 1998 saw the release of his debut album
Visual Audio Sensory Theater. Deserving of it's relatively few accolades, the album remains a gem that beckons the listener into a realm of emotion quite unlike anything else they have heard before.
Visual Audio Sensory Theater is a soundscape of love and loss, something that is readily identifiable within all of us. Refraining from delving into the immature Crosby instead sifts through the various emotions, crazy as they may be, that accompany the two feelings. The soundscape of the album can quite easily be called masterful, as Crosby's voice is perfect for the soft croon that holds the listener's hand throughout the 12 tracks. Samples of monk chanting are woven into man of the songs, giving them as well as the entire album a surreal, almost religiously peaceful quality. Be it the gang chant's in “Dirty Hole” or the delectably divine monastery overtone of “I'm Dying” the album offers something uniquely different, something not quite dark, yet entirely relatable.
Visual Audio Sensory Theater is an album of slower tempo's and thought-out passages, though “Temptation” ups the ante with somewhat frantic acoustic guitars, child chants, and lyrics keeping in theme with the title. The album is one of halves, as the first six tracks are content to glide along while the latter 7 stir up the status quo. This creates a stark contrast, one that comes as somewhat of a mixed blessing; some may fall in love with the slow macabre lines of “I'm Dying” only to be turned off by the lighter tones of “Untitled Track” and vice versa. Though being one of the album's potential downsides it also furthers VAST's uniqueness, as nothing else ever sounds quite like this album.
With this debut Crosby solidified his place in music history; in a time of change
Visual Audio Sensory Theater stands strong as a superb outing into well tread emotions. While on paper this might seem paradoxical the album's use of samples, Crosby's extremely unique and wonderful voice, and the very layout of the tracks change what could have been another bland retread of loss into something gorgeous. Perfection is not obtained as later tracks seem lackluster when compared to some of their stellar brethren, and when taken in context album single “Pretty When You Cry” seems strikingly out of place. Somehow VAST comes across as more human for this, as if the very fallacy itself was planned so the listener might be able to
believe in the sensory world they have entered; this is an album of brilliance.
