Span (2) – Vs. Time

This is a bittersweet album for me, but not in a way that keeps me from listening to it all the time. Every time I listen to Vs.Time I'm excited about the whole album experience, always starting from the first track and listening to the end. I can't even say that I like every single track, but every single track plays a part in the album's overarching feel. I think part of that desire to listen to it all the way through comes from the album just being quality as is and ultimately well constructed, but I also feel that it comes from the knowledge that this is the last Span record that will likely ever be. The way that the album's track order is laid out really does feel like a long, existential sort-of goodbye. Intriguing, exciting, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

The album comes in with a bang on the track "Better Believe It" and it's a fun one. While I do enjoy the song overall, it is a little janky and unnatural in its melodic choices, but high energy enough to pull it off and be a good album opener. The next track is "Cut Like Diamonds" and this is where the album really kicks in with what I would dub as the 'second intro.' It houses an absolutely killer riff that never gets old no matter how many times I come back to it. This song is powerful both in the guitar work and the melody line and it ends with Jarle really putting his heart into it; definitely a winner. Track number three is home to "The Outside" and it's not going to let you down. It has a riff that moves, a good chorus (both lyrically and harmonically), and a strong ending. I would have liked more interest in the guitar solo, but you rarely get everything you want and it is still definitely a great song.

Moving into the first ballad of the album "I'm One Of Us" is truly a depressed song, which I understand doesn't sound good, but it's in a way that makes you feel empathy as opposed to pity. The chorus is one to make you want to sing along and take part in the old 'misery loves company' adage. Like a bar song for the depressed, or I guess: like a bar song. Moving onto track five we find "Living In A Suitcase." This song has a great verse that is driving, interesting, and possibly my favorite verse sound on the album. With such a great verse I would have picked a different sound for the chorus, but it's still acceptable and enjoyable. Track number six is "I'm Nothing" and I think it's the low point on the album. I can't say I like this track all that much as I get more of the "pity feeling" towards it rather than empathy like I talked about before. There are some really cool harmonies that come in on the final verse before a pretty solid guitar solo, but those are the only redeeming qualities in the song. The ending would have been good if they didn't have shouting of "I'm nothing!" over and over. Wrapping up the first act of the album is track seven with "Sea." This one is a tad boring with little intrigue, but it's short so I almost consider it a concept track leading to the second half of the album; an intermission of sorts.

Starting act two is “Nowhere To Be Found” which so poignantly captures the badass sound of wandering through a desert. The bass line is forefront in this song and it’s interesting enough to hold that spot, and the choice of lyrical rhythm makes it stand out as well. It’s entertaining all the way to the end with dynamic highs and lows and is one of the more well-written songs on the album. Track nine is “When I Fall” and it brings the album back to that heavy sound we love, but to a new brutal level. The verse is heavy and dark, but it becomes brighter and uplifting in the chorus, which is unexpected and incredibly enjoyable. It reminds you that these are rockers with a sense for song-writing instead of just making consistently mindless rock. The fattest track on the album for sure. Track ten is “Room For One” and it’s okay, but it definitely isn’t all that exciting. A track that is better live and I would suggest looking up the final gig performance of it.

The final proper track is “Wish It Would Rain” which brings back the intrigue and existential vibe. The bass line creeps really nicely, the guitar solo is powerful, and the chorus is filled with a real ache, which makes it that bittersweet track to lead into the “Outro” and capitalize on what the album wanted you to feel in the end. This is purely a track of ambience with no real structure to it, but I always find myself listening to it all the way through. It is the sound of ending a long, emotional journey and approaching nirvana. If you make it to the end you feel a sense of peace, loss, and meaning which is a powerful combination of feelings and I applaud Span for being able to invoke that in their listeners. Now, I added a track in my own collection to play after the “Outro” as it was the last song that Span recorded as a band and it feels like the encore to their last show. The track is called “Parasite” and it is a cover of a “Kiss” song. It’s awesome. It’s heavy. And it is way better than the original. It’s a heck of a way to put an exclamation point at the end of a career. I highly recommend that you add it to the end of “Vs.Time” and I hope that this album has been as enjoyable to you as it has been to me. Thanks for reading.

-Graeme Wilson