At the Drive-In Album: “Vaya [EP]”

I don't have much to say, other than this album is freakin incredible. Sure, the lyrics make no sense, but they do add to the experience quite a bit. Listening to any of ATDI's songs without Cedirc singing would just sound wrong. He's kind of like another guitar....Anyway, onto this review. I don't want to think of any fancy words right now, so I'll just say that this album is very, very exciting and different. I've never heard anything like ATDI other than ATDI themselves. Every single song on this album sounds great to me. The only problem I had with it was that it was too short (something around 30 minutes long seems too short to me). Though, I'd much rather have quality than quantity, and they deliver on the former.

Rascuache - Starts with a bang, then slows and gathers some groove/funk, then ignites again into something awesome.

Proxima Centauri - Seems offbeat at first, but the more you listen to it, the more you start to like it.

Ursa Minor - Another one of the "odd" songs that sounds wrong at first, but then turns into something exhilarating. Really.

Helitrope - This song jumps out and hits you at the beginning. And it doesn't really stop hitting you, either.

Metronome Arthritis - This song starts very slow. It's kind of an anxious slow, though, and as it progresses, you can tell something's going to happen. And it will... :) Very nice drums on the last part, methinks.

300 Mhz - Instantly very dynamic, it starts with a bang (as most songs on this album do). This is another song that sounds wrong the first time you listen to it. It grows on you, though, but slower than the rest. And for those who don't know, Cedirc isn't saying weird things in the middle - they reversed a track of his voice (At least, that's my theory). This is the only song ATDI has done that I can remember hearing any cussing on. I kind of wonder why they even included it, as it adds nothing and if it weren't for it, you could play it anywhere without anyone disapproving (of lyrics, anyway).

198d - Slow song that sounds really nice. Beginning is a little depressing, but the end gets rid of that depression with some mixture of anger/hope (which is quite an interesting emotion). Not nearly as depressing as Non-Zero Possibility (RoC)

Overall, this album is great. This was my second ATDI album, after RoC. It took a little bit of adjusting, but it's definitely worth it.

This 7 track EP is At the Drive-in at their best. It has a much warmer sound than the follow up to this record (Relationship of Command), and the lyrics and vocal delivery of the first track (Rascuache) really blew me away. It took me a while to get into this record, but it was worth the effort. The thing i really like about this band is the way they always try and innovate in their guitar playing and create the most original and inspiring melodies. Atd-i are a great band and this along with Relationship of Command are two of the best emo-punk records released in years. Highly reccomended.

This CD is absolutely perfect. Every song on it is equally amazing. By far their best CD. Its one of those CD's that pumps you up with so much energy that you're gonna rock out in your car and you don't give a *&^% who sees you doing it. I honestly look at people in their cars when i listen to this, and i KNOW that whatever they are listening to could never be as good as VAYA. Don't be without music this good.

From the first time i heard this album, I was hooked on At the Drive-In. This album is solid from start to finish, a favorite for many including myself. "Metronome Arthritis" instantly became one of my favorite songs and the others, especially "198d," are among the best I've ever heard. This album presents sonic landscapes that are in many ways unparalleled. While I love their other albums, "Vaya" separates itself as the best.

More polished than In Casino Out and more electronic and Radioheadesque than Relationship Of Command, Vaya is an interesting little sidetrip between the two worlds, and I say little because the overall cd's a little less than 24 minutes long. Very hard to describe, there's still the punk emo influence but just a world unto it's own...

The lyrics are ofcourse awesome, beautifully poetic, futuristic, and incapable of description. Songs such as "Metronome Arthritis" reflect shades of political veiwing or even paranoia ("What if forensics finds the answers? What if they stole my fingerprints?" Cedric says), "Ursa Minor" seems like it's telling a tale of future oppressions of gravity police and such ("propeller snapped/decapitated while you slept upon your pillow/inertia kisses those around me")...

"Heliotrope" might have references to religious conspiracy, "Proxima Centauri" is an intergalctic droolfest involving ancient Romans in space...the crazy vocal blabbering at the end of "300Mhz" is a nice experience...the overall effect of this EP is a sound experiment signal sent via satellite from another planet. It's also a good and relatively cheap installment to get if you want to sample ATDI. Afterwards, you'll want to try out their actual albums.