Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on the Ann Arbor District Library’s Pulp blog.
VAZUM didn’t expect a Western film to inspire the title of its latest album.
The Jackson duo of Zach Pliska (vocals, guitars, drums) and Emily Sturm (vocals, bass) stumbled upon the phrase “Western violence” while watching The Quick and the Dead.
“We had some of the songs fleshed out and usually we go with a ‘V’ in the name for our albums. We were watching [the 1995 film] by Sam Raimi and the rating was ‘R,’ and it said two words: ‘Western violence,’” said Sturm about the duo’s doomgaze album, Western Violence.
“We said, ‘Oh my god, that’s what we’re writing about,’ and it just summed it up. And then we said, ‘That’s what we’re living in … This is how our society expresses itself now.’”
On Western Violence, VAZUM reflects on the disintegration and disillusionment of our country and provides a social commentary on the personal, cultural, and political events that impact it.
The album’s dozen tracks explore topics ranging from the opioid epidemic to gun violence to a dystopian future to toxic relationships. It also takes inspiration from VAZUM’s past tours through the southern U.S., the U.K., and France.
“We were driving through Georgia and we went through some areas with houses falling apart,” said Pliska, who’s a University of Michigan alum.
“To see the extent of the poverty and those places you’re driving through, it’s still shocking. Our tours in the U.K. and France were eye-opening with just seeing how different the countries are.”
As part of that perspective, VAZUM brings Western Violence’s themes to life through vigilant lyrics, ethereal vocals, and spellbinding instrumentation filled with goth-rock, post-punk, and shoegaze elements.
To learn more, I spoke with the duo about the album ahead of an August 10 set at Ogma Brewing Co.’s Art Pop ‘24 festival in Jackson.
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