Deepshade are another upcoming band on the vibrant British music scene, and after just eighteen months together, have built a solid following and come up with an equally solid first release. Ok, so it’s unlikely to crash the top five, but they have potential and ‘Everything Popular is Wrong’ offers some worthwhile moments.
‘Time’ and track two ‘The Line’ get things started in straightforward fashion with some insistent riffing, before the twists and turns of ‘Out of Hand’, which takes a while to offer up anything of interest, but eventually progresses into something a little more intense; with a quite rousing climax of multi-layered guitars.
Instrumentally-speaking, they are strong and explore this equally well on ‘Bring the Axe Down’ and the Hawkwind-esque ‘Haven’t Said a Word’. This kind of seventies feel shines through on a number of tracks, notably ‘Lowlights’ and closing track ‘Sad Sun’.
They are certainly musically talented, but are maybe lacking a little identity as songwriters; one or two tracks, such as ‘The Line’, don’t really go anywhere and the inclusion of ‘The Mud, The Blood and The Tears’ feels like a predictable obligation, despite the well executed solo. Nevertheless, when they experiment more, such as on the quirky ‘Tattoo’ and the bass-driven ‘Chairman’, there are hints of potential depth to their sound.
So, all told, this is a good solid job for their first record and has a fair degree of potential; they are definitely a work in progress, but some heavy touring and a bit more daring in the songwriting department could see them climbing ladders.
3.5/5
‘Everything Popular is Wrong’ by Deepshade is out now.
Deepshade links: Facebook|Twitter
Words by Edward Layland (@EdwardLayland)