Will Johnson not only fronts the incestuous bands Centro-matic and South San Gabriel, but he also has a solo career on the side. After recording numerous albums in eight prolific years, Johnson is still not at a loss for words. He suppressed and collected his sorrow over time to relinquish on his solo sophomore album, on which he plays the role of the dejected balladeer. The timbre of Will Johnson's voice is remarkably similar to the rustic voice of Ryan Adams. While Adams has a more variety of tempos and songs, Johnson is more consistent with his songs; this consistency, however, often results in songs sounding alike. Each of the tracks on Vultures Await has a lulling rhythm accompanied by poignant lyrics. The recordings are stripped down; there is minimal use of instruments as his sandpaper voice gently grates the legato notes of the piano and acoustic guitar.
The first sound of the album is Johnson lightly tapping the slow tempo of "Catherine Dupree;" the wooden piano bench creaks faintly as he leans on certain notes throughout the song. All of these authentic nuances give the album an intimate feel, which breaks the barrier between artist and listener. He sympathetically sides with Catherine, the troubled protagonist who burns down a university, as he forcefully warns society, "Don't try to stop her/don't act like you know how she'd like to behave." The starkness of "Catherine Dupree" emphasizes the gorgeous melding of instruments in the next track "Just to Know What You've Been Dreaming." The guitar and bass quiver under the tremor of Johnson's hazy vocals, while the piano arpeggios garnish each phrase. The lyrics are not burdened by heavy figurative language; they elicit a charismatic romantic quality, "I would (walk a thousand miles/steal a thousand smiles/tell a thousand tales) just to know that you've been (dreaming/laughing/thinking)."
"The worst thing to do is just accept it," Johnson sighs along the soft plucks of the acoustic guitar in "Just Some Silence." The sound of a whistling wind washing over weeping violin invokes the setting of a cold desolate winter night. "Sleep a While" serves as an extension to the song with the gradual fade-in of the passionate violin. The faster pace and the addition of instruments in "Sleep a While" makes it a musically more exciting song than "Just Some Silence," however, it is not as emotionally stirring. Johnson's voice resonates in the misleadingly named closer "Nothin' But Godzilla." Not nearly as menacing as the song title suggests, the song is just as languid and despondent as the other tracks.
The album seems like one long, beautiful, fifty-minute song with a couple of pleasant interruptions, because it doesn't have much diversity in the songwriting. Johnson mentions sleep and sleepiness in several of his songs and his choice of tempo creates a drowsy, soothing effect. This effect is a double-edged sword, because it could ease the melancholy heart, but it also could put people to sleep after one track.
