We Cast Music: World of Doubt

Song: World of Doubt
Artist: Tom Vek
Album: Leisure Seizure

I've been listening to self-taught multi-instrumentalist Tom Vek's second album, "Leisure Seizure" which was just released earlier this month and haven't been able to wrap my head around it. I wasn't familiar with Vek before, and yet there was a familiarity to his sound that I just couldn't place. His music is a mix of rock with elements of electronic used more experimentally vs. hook-driven. I hear a bit of Beck, a little Paul Westerberg, and a little Yeasayer. But this AM it hit me... it was his voice that was familiar, and his interesting off-kilter cadence reminded me of... Kid Cudi. It's a little bit of a stretch, and the familiarities end there... but regardless, "Leisure Seizure" is worthy of a listen.

Apparently Vek signed to Tummy Touch Records in 2001, with eight years of recorded material he wrote in his parents garage. Despite the deluge, his debut album "We Have Sound" was released in 2004, so it's been a bit of a wait for new material.

A full listen of the album proved that Vek is a bit of oddball, certainly marching to the beat of his own drum. And yet, he at one time appeared as an actor on The O.C., where he performed one of his songs.

On one hand the album seems pretty concise, and on the other a little musically all over the place. Lead single "A Chore" has a rolling propulsion of crashing instrumentation and buzzed out guitar, lead track "Hold Your Hand" has a touch of Talking Heads at their most manic, and swirling dark beats that only sort of go with his bored/yearning vocals, and "World of Doubt" sounds like Cake doing experimental junk-yard pop. Quite a trip.

I'm still warming up to the album as it's not a warm and fuzzy record. At times it almost seems Vek is a little bored with what he's doing, but that quickly turns toward something manic, odd, and kind of amazing. I'm going to seek out that first record to hear his progression over the past couple years. I get the feeling, just by this album, that he's sort of trying to work himself out a bit still. It's fascinating, and he may be one guy to watch indeed.

Enjoy.

World of Doubt