Vessels

Vessels are a group from Leeds that form in 2005 and remain active. The line-up includes Tom Evans, Lee J. Malcolm, Tim Mitchell, Martin Teff and Peter Wright. The band begins as a post-rock act and then develops into a more electronic live sound, later described across electronic, electronic rock, experimental, post-rock, progressive and rock contexts.

Early years and formation

Several members play together from the early 2000s before the group settles on the name Vessels. Before that, the musicians go through different line-ups and band names. In 2007, a limited 7-inch single, Yuki / Forever the Optimist, appears on Cuckundoo Records. After this release, Peter Wright joins the line-up.

First releases

Another single, Two Words & A Gesture, follows in November 2007. The band then travels to Minneapolis to record its debut album, White Fields and Open Devices, with producer John Congleton at Pachyderm Studios. Congleton has previously worked with Explosions in the Sky, This Will Destroy You and Modest Mouse. The album is a ten-track record completed in twelve days, after which the band returns to the UK for a nationwide tour. The single A Hundred Times In Every Direction is released ahead of the album.

Development and later albums

Vessels record the follow-up album in Dallas, Texas, again with John Congleton, and with vocals by Stuart Warwick of Jacob's Story. Titled Helioscope, it is released in 2011. The band headlines the BBC Introducing Stage at Glastonbury Festival in June 2011. Helioscope receives generally positive reviews, including scores from Pitchfork Media and Sputnik Music.

The third album, Dilate, appears in 2015 and marks a move away from the more direct post-rock approach of Helioscope towards a stronger electronic style. The music relies more on synthesisers and percussion than on guitars, and the album receives a Metacritic score of 77/100.

The Great Distraction follows in 2017 on Different Recordings. It features guest vocalists including John Grant and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips, and continues the band's shift further into electronica.

Line-up

Tom Evans performs guitar, vocals and synth. Lee J. Malcolm performs guitar, vocals and synth. Tim Mitchell performs drums. Martin Teff performs guitar, bass and synth. Peter Wright performs guitar, vocals, keys, bass and synth.