Most of us are moving too quickly.
It’s a common societal issue – fast-paced lives plaguing many; either Vacations are totally immune to the problem or are cleverly using music to combat it.
The four-piece entered The Foundry stage (6 April) and stood before an intimate crowd. “What’s good what’s up Brisbane, so many people out. This song’s called ‘Relax’.”
The discography heavyweight set the precedent high, lyrics ‘We’re stressing out, over nothing real’ sticking like glue. ‘Relax’ as a term may be open to interpretation, but somehow Vacations have audibly summarised the concept from all possible perspectives.
‘Moving Out’ is practically a short story, words shifting from apprehension to acceptance; the band described it as: “A song about our first house outta home.” Before insisting we: “Slow things down just a little.”
The opening guitar riff of ‘Young’ was beautiful, melancholy lyrics matched by the verses transition into a minor-like key. “Are you having a good Friday?” they asked, next summarising the woes of outgrowing childhood chums with ‘Friends’.
“We’re having a really lovely time up here,” Vacations gushed, gliding into the sparkly beginnings of ‘On Hold’. The band excitedly revealed that it was “the first time we played that song live!”; genuinely surprising, the track was clearly new, but only due to its layered harmonies and braver complexity.
Another release from their recent album ‘Changes’, ‘Club Social’ smoothly followed suit; ‘Steady’ asserted itself as strong record single before the band rewarded eager fans with favourite, ‘Home’.
“We’ve got one more for ya,” they chuckled. “And it’s about Newcastle. But surely, in some way, you’ll be able to relate to it as well.” The boys breezed through ‘Hamilton South’ from their debut EP ‘Days’, finally drifting off with a smile and a wave.
Acoustics-wise, Vacations had some kinks to iron out, twinkling guitars occasionally muddled among the vocals and percussion. The warm, well-written hooks are the star of most tracks (often louder than the lyrics in recordings), but were unfortunately a little lost in the instrumental imbalance.
At only 40-minutes long it was perhaps one of the briefest sets I’d seen, though with songs averaging two-or-so minutes this was relatively unsurprising.
Despite the cliché, their short time on stage was still very sweet, perhaps made even sweeter having offered an inch, instead of forcing a mile.
There’s no denying Vacations’ discography can be a little repetitive at times, but there’s something strangely comforting about the familiarity. The band have simply honed in on their serene, summery sound, and the result when hearing each song in succession makes for an incredibly soothing sentiment.
Particularly soothing in a sense that each track genuinely slows down time: ‘I’m so tired from doing nothing at all’; ‘Relax, take it easy, lie down next to me’; and ‘Another day goes by, and where was I?’ all snippets of their music’s mellow dispositions.
It’s a common societal issue, to feel short of those precious seconds; the solution may be removing your watch, sinking into the grass and granting Vacations a listen.
