I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year. One of the prizes was to record with Dave Rhodes (Blindspott, Stylus) at Roundhead Studios, and their new single, All This Time, is the first to be released from those sessions.
The band comprise Eileen Jolly (vocals), Cameron Faulkner (guitar, vocals), Kyle Martin (guitar), John Faulding (bass) and Ethan Page (drums), and they come from the Emo viewpoint, mixing punchy rock guitars with nice hooks and vocals which build and create something which is incredibly infectious. Some controlled feedback leads into a riff while John is sparing, Ethan is using a double snare strike and Eileen is deliberately low key, but it builds through the chorus and then Cameron has a vocal beck and call with Eileen in the second verse.
The use of different styles and positive use of space, combined with melodic hooks, make for a very strong debut indeed. Dave Rhodes has kept their edge to a minimum, just allowing it to pop its head up during the final instrumental breakdown (which has a brief but very nice rising guitar solo), and the song continues to develop until it suddenly ends, so I just kept it on repeat. There is a lot more to come from these guys, a band to keep an eye out for.
Lost Vessels are one of Auckland’s most promising young rock acts, a high-energy 5-piece pop-punk band fronted by singer Eileen Jolly, channelling dynamic, catchy choruses with dual vocalists and a super-tight rhythm section not afraid of a half-time breakdown or two to get heads nodding.
After dozens of electrifying live performances in the last 18 months, the band won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year, and have subsequently recorded a debut EP with Dave Rhodes (Blindspott, Stylus) at Roundhead Studios to be released in the third quarter of 2023. The 5-track EP is a mixture of upbeat and catchy party pop-punk (Nostalgia, Sleep) and darker, emotional anthems (FMB, I Don’t Owe You).
Ethan and Cam bonded over pop punk while playing in hard rock outfit Let’s Get Nuked, were joined by Kyle shortly after and started gigging with their then bassist and vocalist but as with many others they discovered that Covid got in the way and they ended up needing a new singer.