Review: "0.1 Daylight's Coming" by Vesta

Back in the day (I'm thinking specifically of 2000 to 2004 or so...), The Juliana Theory was my favorite band in the whole world. Their sophomore release "Emotion Is Dead" was an incredible step forward for emo music as a genre, and their follow-up EP "Music From Another Room" was just as good. These albums spoke to me on a fundamental level - when I listened to them, it was if I was listening to the distillation of music. I loved every second.

Since that time, The Juliana Theory released two more albums ("Love" and "Deadbeat Sweetheartbeat") and a 'best of' disc, and although these were great albums in their own right, they didn't compare to the previous two discs.

When the band finally broke up a few years ago, I was ambivalent. It was quite possible that the band's best days were behind it, and I would rather have them break up than continue to churn out music for no good reason.

Which brings us to Vesta. Vesta isn't a re-imagining of The Juliana Theory. Although the two bands reside in a similar genre, they are quite different in their sound and execution. But what brings the two bands into the same review is this: two members of The Juliana Theory are now in Vesta.

THAT is what made me give this disc a chance. And I'm glad I did.

"0.1 Daylight's Coming" is a curious album. The music sounds a bit like Brit rock (think Franz Ferdinand) and a bit like standard emo fare, but with 'loose' sounding vocals.

That's the best I can do, sorry. But imagine a mainstream band like Coldplay or U2 but with a bit of a different groove and you're not too far off.

When I first listened to this music, I was a bit put off. It sounded derivative - maybe I was expecting The Juliana Theory - and I almost dismissed it. But I gave it another listen. And another. And now I've been keeping it in rotation for about six weeks and it has really grown on me.

If you liked The Juliana Theory, if you like Franz Ferdinand, if you like Rooney, I suggest you give this a listen. It's not groundbreaking, but it IS high-quality, sing-along stuff that I thoroughly enjoy.

Check it out here.