Retaining a fanbase after switching bands isn't easy, but Kenny Vasoli (who first gained notoriety as singer-bassist of pop-punk outfit The Starting Line) hasn't given his followers many reasons to jump ship in his post-TSL career. Vasoli's Person L side project blossomed from a solo bedroom endeavor into a full-fledged touring rock band (their 2009 LP — The Positives — was recorded in Lakeland, Fla.), and his latest undertaking finds the 27-year-old recording with a few friends under the Vacationer moniker.
If I had my way, Vasoli would be on "vacation" for a while. The syncopated piano chords and soulful guitar fills of "Everyone Knows" open the 10-track Gone, and the whole of the album is set in full motion by active production that induces head bobbing while staying mellow enough to just veg out to. Vasoli's gift for melody shines on the title track, where he sweetly declares "peace of mind / heaven knows you give me mine" over quiet hand claps and plucked clavichords, and everything comes to a flourishing head on the airy-arrangement closer "Farther."
It's one of the most transportive records I've heard in a while and one that continually reveals itself little by little; the bells, woodwinds, and glitchy backbeat of "Trip" are one of many subtle highlights. (Out March 20 via Downtown/Universal)
3 and 1/2 Stars
