Vault Vol. 3

Chronique

Closing out a 2017 compilation of previously unreleased demos, Vault, Vol. 3 gathers the final 19 tracks of 64 rescued from the failing hard drive of STRFKR founder and main songwriter Josh Hodges. With some of the demos dating back to before the project's debut, and with tracks in various states of completion, the collection is presented as a glimpse into Hodges' songwriting process. Still, as was the case with Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, there are some notably catchy gems and intriguing song segments here awaiting discovery, as well as a few seemingly complete songs that never received the full dance-rock production treatment. In fact, Vol. 3 is the only installment with no tracks clocking in at under a minute. It opens with the cartoonish "Shot Gun," a nearly five-minute entry with old-school telephone ringers, spoken voice, monosyllabic singing, simple drums, and frolicsome keyboards and electronics that gets things off to a jaunty start. Next up, the briefer "Sensitive" sets a frenetic groove before collapsing into an organized power-down. Elsewhere, there's the carnivalesque, wordless "Lazer Fight" and the bloopy "Bla." (A different track is aptly titled "Bleeper"). Demos like "Aliens" and "Alaska" contain spoken-word samples alongside whimsical, sci-fi-evoking electronics and effective beats. More reflective, singer/songwriter-type fare is represented by "Laura," though it's an outlier among this particular group of tracks. While not exactly essential for fans due to the incomplete nature of the demos, there's some infectious stuff to be culled from this compilation, and Vol. 3 is the most consistently playful.

© Marcy Donelson /TiVo