Volores – Ages (Self-Released)
Ages, the debut from husband-and-wife duo Volores starts out on the staid “All That We Could Need,” a decent if underwhelming track that hides the band’s real talent.
But quickly enough, on the powerfully affecting “Carrion Cry” that band make up for lost time. The song not only flaunts the band’s lyrical prowess but perfectly showcases Shelby Maxwell’s soaring vocals. Despite the rather grotesque title – carrion is an animal’s decaying flesh – it’s a remarkably passionate song about moving forward and prevailing even as darkness threatens to take over.
And there is a lot of darkness on the record, which blends elements of goth, post punk, folk and Americana for an inspired sound that would fit nicely on a playlist with Nick Cave and Elliott Smith. Along with Shelby on vocals and guitar, Volores is comprised of bassist Nathen Maxwell – best known as a member of the popular Celtic punk band Flogging Molly –and Art Brown on drums.
Among the other highlights here are the up tempo “Genevieve” – complete with a haunting viola to help punctuate the sound – and the steady title track. “It’s a song about life and its different stages as you grow older,” Shelby explains. “How you feel inexperienced in life with each new stage of it that you encounter, and how we cope with the confusion and feelings.” The band is not shy about tackling the big themes on Ages: life, love and death and a little bit of mental health struggle tucked in as well. But the music, beautiful at times, and Shelby’s confident, soothing vocals manage to tether the weighty themes to optimism, or at least surviving.
The album is not flawless, along with the opening track there are one or two other weaker moments on the record, but there is more than enough to like about Ages and plenty of great moments to keep you coming back again.
The album was produced by the band and mastered by Marco Ramirez of Sonic Ranch.
Find more information on the band here: https://voloresband.com