Vaz - Hey One Cell b/w No Leaf Clover 7"

Label: Reptilian
Year: 1998

Here's where we heard Vaz come out of the gates for the first time. The debut performance. Which is to say, the metaphorical gates of the loved and lost Hammerhead legacy.
At the time it sounded like a pretty linear transition from the nervy Hammerhead hardcore to the two man champagne jam of Vaz. They kept the twitchy propellant of their former endeavor and on this record merely streamlined the delivery.
No frills, but no frills needed, nor should any frill even be entertained at this juncture. Vaz comes straight at you frill-free and at deliberate pace. And while once they reach you, they might have broken into a sort of Ian Curtis-esque jittery dance to disarm you, you'll still wind up missing a tooth, or at the very least with a patch of hair missing.
Only two songs, and they blow by pretty quick, but an essential record nonetheless. Vaz has developed a fairly extensive discography since this record, and with it a sound of their own, but for this 7" you hear the band just emerging from the shadow of their previous mistress, still reeking of her perfume.

*originally posted  02.16.16, reposted 11.11.21

DL