Totally Vacant by Total Vacation

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"Total Vacation’s high-energy blend of sticky pop-punk and violently crunchy hardcore might seem like a throwback on the surface, but digging a little deeper yields a warm, chewy heart at the center, buoyed by clever songwriting chops and underpinned by a genuinely earnest sensitivity. Informed by classic easycore influences as much as the gritty melodicism of early-2010s indie rock and emo, Total Vacation have crafted a uniquely propulsive and excitable bottle rocket of a pop-punk EP with their debut, Totally Vacant.

​Total Vacation is formed around the twin poles of Charlie Pastuszenski and Fenn Macon, both of whom grew up enmeshed in the DIY metal, hardcore, and pop-punk scenes that surrounded them in their locale of Massachusetts (Pastuszenski in Medfield, Macon in North Andover). Macon attended college in Worcester and upon getting more involved in that scene (including setting up shows at small local venues like the Shop and the Firehouse) ended up running in many of the same circles as Pastuszenski. By the time summer of 2013 rolled around, the two had become thick as thieves, bonding over albums like The Greatest Generation by the Wonder Years and Whenever, If Ever by The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die (DNA from both of those releases crops up in abundance on Totally Vacant).

​Although both had been bitten by the collaboration bug, it took quite a long time for a solid project involving the two to hit the ground running. Things weren’t helped by Macon staying in Massachusetts while Pastuszenski would move to New York City and later on Stockholm, Sweden (which is where he lives currently). Still, whenever the two happened to be in the same place at the same time, impromptu jam sessions would occur, and the underlying drive to create something concrete was still there.

​In mid-2020, that nascent creative drive was kicked into high gear, like it was for many others, by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Pastuszenski began to put together a rough demo of the first Total Vacation song, “Pattern of Resolve.” Sending it to Macon for feedback eventually resulted in a spirited, collaborative back-and-forth as song structures, lyrics, and melodies began to shift and take on new shapes. After 6 months, they had somehow managed to write and track an EP’s worth of songs (though the instruments were primarily tracked by Pastuszenski-- including the drum programming-- there are concrete plans to record their next release together and in person), with a little help from their mutual friend Elle Mitchell, who provided some vocal mixing as well as a standout screaming section during the bridge on late-EP heavy hitter “Under the Sun.” Ultimately, Macon and Pastuszenski are both guitarists, vocalists, and songwriters for the project, while Mitchell has recently been inducted as a bassist in addition to their vocal talents.

​Totally Vacant is a brilliantly compact beast, comprising five songs (one of which is a short-but-sweet intro track), none of which stretch much further than the three-minute mark. The overall impact is something akin to being hit in the face with bubble gum, as the EP fuses exuberantly spiky pop-punk melodies with thick, rubbery low-end grooves and mosh parts organically and delightfully. Songs like mid-EP tentpole “Transatlantischism” infuse soft-hearted acoustic interplay into the fray before disregarding the rules and barrelling ahead into a speedy barnstormer. Other songs, like closer and absolute standout “TV,” also incorporate flecks of the meandering, intricate melodies of early 2010s emo without sacrificing any of the energy central to the project.

​Lyrically, Totally Vacant is refreshingly earnest and direct in a sea of artists who rely on lazy metaphor or smirking irony to get their point across. Although there are some romantic throughlines, a good chunk of the lyrical content is actually about Macon and Pastuszenski’s long-distance friendship, and that comes through brilliantly in lines like “If you’re in this with me like I am with you/Who knows what together we’ll do” or “Miles between us but I won’t forget you.” It provides the entire project with raw nerves and a bloody, beating heart, making it at once relatable and deeply, touchingly personal.

​Total Vacation are one of the biggest surprises of 2021. As earnestly emotional as they are genuinely goofy, they have the smart, sharp hooks and the elastic effervescence to shoot themselves into the stars. Totally Vacant is anything but a nostalgia play-- it’s a plea for friendship and comfort in a time and world where nothing is needed more."

--Ellie Kovach (@youdontneedmaps on Twitter <3)
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