I first saw Theo Vandenhoff in Cardiff, supporting Crywank on their UK tour and instantly I fell in love with his music. Hailing from Toronto, Canada, Vandenhoff blends influences of post-punk, gothic rock and sophisti-pop together to create an infectious and raw sound for the “painfully lonely and hopelessly romantic.”
His second EP In The Throes Of Love comes after Vandenhoff began playing with a live band, with the songs written with this live sound in mind. The result is an immersive and visceral experience, demonstrating the natural creative and musical growth from his debut EP Heartache Is An Empty Room.
Vandenhoff comments how the band “provides this warm and pulsating sonic tapestry through which I weave my vulnerability. It’s a new dynamic and it works, it feels like an exorcism”.
Opening with ‘In The Throes Of Love’, the title track encapsulates the whole EP. Vandenhoff sings about opening up to emotional vulnerability and navigating the landscape of love. “We both know our hearts will break eventually” he sings, yet is still drawn into this desire for connection – “we’re trapped in the throes of love.”
The accompanying video was written and directed by Vandenhoff’s partner, who he says is the only person with a “truly profound understanding” of the song. The song acts as a juxtaposition of love, telling the story of two people falling in love and the pain that comes with it.
‘Temper’ comes next, immediately shifting direction with a heavy brooding baseline and chorus of noise. Tension builds and builds, with Vandenhoff screaming “I THINK I AM IN LOVE WITH HER” in a primal release of pent up emotion and desire. Vandenhoff again displays vulnerability and tenderness as he describes “light pouring from her seams” in a saxophone-laden bridge before a return to the familiar bassline and fiery passion.
A gothic inspired, driving bassline kicks off ‘Evening Star’ which propels the track forward. The themes of the longing and uncertainty of love come out in the lyrics “Affection is the last kiss before leaving, loving is a call to the abyss.” Vandenhoff’s vocals and narrative feel more front and centre here and help project the track’s story.
‘Rosetta’ sees a return to a more ballad-esque style of song. “But I’m captured by your spell…I want to show you what’s right, I want to show you I’m right” sings Vandenhoff, as the desire for love and longing for it pours out of the lyrics. The saxophone present adds to this feeling and emotion builds throughout the track, spilling out in the song’s finale and musical crescendo. Rosetta is a song you will want to listen to over and over again.
Featuring a Cure and Joy Division-like riff, ‘Eternity (Looking Skyward)’ is the EP’s final track. The idea of the hopeless romantic is seen through the lyrics “I fell in love with songs about feelings that I’d never felt before.” Emotion and feeling builds leading to Vandenhoff roaring “Eternity, looking skyward!” in cathartic release. The tempo then slows, as Vandenhoff reflects on the world and how he is “swimming against the current”. The song concludes with the lyrics “eternity, looking skyward” on loop, looking to the future and the uncertainty of what comes next. It is a fitting end to the narrative that plays and weaves through each track on the record.
This collection of songs perfectly encapsulates the landscape of love, the longing and desire and the vulnerability and fear of opening yourself up to the unknown. Accompanied by guitar hooks, ferocious bass riffs, synths and drum machines, Vandenhoff’s deeply personal lyrics take you on a journey which is both painful and beautiful and leave you wanting to listen again and again.
The 5-Track EP In The Throes Of Love will be available on vinyl, CD, cassette & streaming on January 12th, 2024.
Listen, stream and buy:
Bandcamp – https://theovandenhoff.bandcamp.com/
Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/album/7lDTk5GJwEOmAcwGog9UUP?si=qnHRac9URH-9mO_ryedXRw
Apple Music – https://music.apple.com/ca/album/heartache-is-an-empty-room-ep/1556392185
