Review Summary: An incredibly enjoyable eleven minute indie EP.
The Vaselines are a Scottish indie band that formed in 1986 consisting of primary members: Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee. Their discography was a brief one; they released two EPs and one LP before disbanding in 1990. They later had two comeback LPs in the 2010s, though they received little to no acclaim. Out of their entire studio discography, their second EP, Dying for It, certainly contains their best material.
With only four songs that total up to about eleven minutes, there isn't any room for overarching themes, but if there were any recurring ideas that showed themselves, it'd be that two of the songs poke fun at angsty teenagers. All four tracks contain both vocals from Kelly and McKee, although only one of the songs has McKee on lead. Kelly's voice is deep and smooth, whereas McKee's is high pitched, yet soothing. Three out of the four tracks are upbeat poppy rockers in the typical 80s indie style, two of which rely on fuzzy guitars and a simple thumping bass. The EP's fourth track - "Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam"- takes on a more serious tone, and has a luscious violin part as an accompaniment. Despite the change of tone in the lyrics, "Jesus" is still rather bright and cheery sounding instrumentally. Due to "Jesus" contrasting the most from the rest of the EP, it acts as not only a standout, but also a refreshing closer. If anything could be considered lackluster about the album, it would be the drums - which take a backseat to the rest of the instrumentation on all four tracks.
Overall, Dying For It is an incredibly brief experience, so the only other thing that really needs to be mentioned is that it's a very pleasurable listen with no filler.
