Labels: Deep Elm
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Following up their rather fine EP on Deep Elm from not so long ago, Desert City Soundtrack crank out an album here of dashed fine post-hardcore / indie rock. It keeps the
basic sound that they had going before, which is to say they sound like they listen to a lot of Three Mile Pilot (or maybe the last Boilermaker lp). This is a good thing! I hope they do listen
to Three Mile Pilot anyway. If they don’t, I will be quite irate.
DCS deal in moody, drawn out songs that pulse and expand as the music develops. Almost every song builds up to the outpouring of the finale – a trait that
many of the best post-emo bands perfected. Where DCS differ is that they place piano at the forefront, with the vocals mixed nicely in at a similar level to
sound more like an instrument than an unwelcome intrusion. The balance works well. Sometimes the songs get loud and noisier though, with some particularly
wrought screaming. Occasionally this detracts from the darker feeling that they build up. Tracks such as “Drawn and Quartered” contrast the screaming
with more subtle moments, and it doesn’t quite ‘do it’ in my opinion. But for the most part the addition of the aggravated vocals fits in well, which
surprised me an awful lot as at first it simply bugged the heck out of me. I preferred when they stick to the melancholy piano and softly softly approach,
but after a couple of listens I became more attuned to the way the screamy parts fitted in, especially when they get the scream backups going in the
background, nestling just behind the regular vocals.
I would still recommend picking up every Three Mile Pilot and Boilermaker record you could find before buying this, but I would say that about many bands. It just so happens
that DCS have more similarities with 3MP than most. But when I come down to the final conclusion, I am left with the thought that “Funeral Card” = a very good
album.