What does Tom Vek sound like?

A DIY home brew of groove-laden art rock, punky shouty vocals, and huge beats.

The review of ‘We Have Sound B-Sides’ by Tom Vek

Tom Vek’s superb debut album ‘We Have Sound’ is 20 years old. I didn’t discover Tom Vek until later in his career, so I missed the original release. With the rerelease of this fantastic lo-fi bedroom rock album before it was a full-blown subgenre, it’s great to have seven B-side tracks to (re)discover.

Originally released across singles from 2004 – 2005, this is Tom Vek at his shouty and most pointed. ‘We Have Sound’ is produced in a way that reminds me of late 80s and early 90s Seattle rock demos. The listener sounds like they are in the recording room. Drums are thick and dry. Cymbals bring a hiss. The balance between dance and indie rock blurs. Guitars are jangly and angular, and things have a purposeful DIY feel.

This album’s rock sound carries across to the opener ‘One Horse Race’. The hard bass drives the track forward and Vek declares “this is not a test of faith” over raucous porno guitar riffs. Later in the collection, ‘Don’t Jump’ is like a mash-up of early Beck and Cornershop. Retro organs, warped detuned guitars clash, jaunty dry drums groove away, and a hippy vocal collide into a deceptively fun track.

In contrast, ‘Music Television’ takes slowed-down rave keyboards and places rock drums over them as Tom repeatedly speaks the title like a disco glitch. There is a distinct 1995 vibe to the track I can’t help but enjoy. ‘Summer Fall’ leans fully into indie electronic music. The empty disco beats let rising slide synths bubble up softly like a distant dewy background. Vek’s voice is put through a voice recorder to make it thin and brittle like an old school tape machine. It’s the sad dance of the selection and the most dancey of the lot. There is also the superb six-minute odyssey of ‘Blessing in Disguise’. This track uses tape sped-up samples and incredibly bouncy guitar riffs to create a dulcimer-esque effect for some of the melodies. This track shows how Tom Vek would make world electronic music.

Messing with blowing out the speakers with damaged filters is ‘Buick Riviera’. The drums, guitars, and synths have all blown their speakers. Each instrument buzzing, scratches, bitcrushes and harshly competes with each other for audio space. When it is all combined, the track is like The Go Team! decided to take on harsh industrial angst in a school playground. The song is an acquired taste, but I find it quite playful and childlike when my ears are ready to cope with that level of harsh noise. ‘Things Are Here To Stay’ turns down the overblown effects somewhat and merges them with the indietronica rock that the album was known for. It uses plenty of keyboards, which is a sign of where Tom Vek would go next in future albums, moving away from the rock side to something more electronic. This is a lost single in waiting – it is so catchy.

There are no weak links in this B-side collection. ‘We Have Sound’ is already a top-tier album and these tracks expand it at the same quality level. If you enjoy early TuneYards, where homebrew drums and bass-forward rock get you moving and grooving, Tom Vek has you covered. Sometimes B-sides hold some of the real passion and heart of an artist. I’d say this is the case with Tom. These B-sides contain some of his more experimental side and he fully commits to the sound he wants. That makes the songs all the better for it and fans should take a dive into this treasure chest of gems.

Recommended track: Things Are Here To Stay

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