Vaz Pink Confetti E.p. (Clear Splatter) vinyl brings the noise rock lineage of Hammerhead into a new configuration. Paul Erickson and Jeff Mooridian built Vaz from the wreckage of that Minneapolis outfit, and what they came up with here is sharper, more focused, and just as hostile.
What Vaz Pink Confetti E.p. (Clear Splatter) vinyl Delivers
Vaz is a two-piece. Guitar, drums, and the kind of forward-leaning aggression that comes from stripping everything non-essential away. The noise rock template they work from goes back to bands like the Melvins and early Jesus Lizard, but Vaz runs it through their own specific frame. The Pink Confetti EP is compact and deliberate. It does not overstay its welcome. The clear splatter pressing from Learning Curve gives it a visual identity that matches the controlled chaos in the grooves.
Hammerhead and What Came After
Hammerhead had a specific reputation in the Minneapolis underground of the 1990s. They were part of the AmRep orbit, which meant noise rock with weight behind it, records that felt physically present even on modest speakers. Erickson took that foundation into Vaz and added precision. The duo format forces decisions. Every riff has to justify its existence. On the Pink Confetti EP those decisions are correct throughout.
The Collector Case
Clear splatter variants on noise rock records from independent labels tend to have short production runs. Learning Curve is not a major distributor, which means physical copies circulate in a limited way. For collectors working the noise rock and post-hardcore end of things, Vaz sits in a productive adjacency to heavier and louder material. The clear splatter pressing is the physical argument for placing this record in a collection rather than just listening to a digital file. The clear splatter pressing is limited and aimed at the collector community that follows noise rock with genuine investment. Learning Curve is not a label with major distribution, which means physical copies circulate in small numbers and become genuinely difficult to acquire once the initial run sells through. For collectors who want their noise rock section to reflect the full breadth of the form, Vaz on clear splatter vinyl is the specific addition that fills a gap in the catalog.
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