IN A BAR, UNDER THE SEA

There is a used record store in our town in the neighborhood of four colleges that are spread out along 26th Street. It’s a great place to troll for cheap deals on decent CDs, and I’ve picked up some good stuff that way. The thing is, most of it I would classify as either grunge or college radio indie rock with the progressive stuff leaning heavily toward metal or psychedelic. That’s where I found dEUS, and I would have to say this band leans pretty far toward both of these genres. Stuff like the ever-present beatbox, shout-out vocals, spoken-word ramblings, and occasional guitar-drum rants pretty much confirm this.

These guys must have a lot of obvious influences, from Dead Milkmen to Nirvana to Captain Beefheart to probably even Primus. This is a fun album to listen to if you don’t take it too seriously.

After the opening “I Don't Mind What Ever Happens” comes “Fell off the Floor, Man”, with lyrics about as meaningful and serious as the song’s title –

“Rub a dub a tub fish – ping pong… Trimming off my nostril hairs – headcase… Smuggling a wombat…”

This has a catchy bass line and plenty of percussion, making it I imagine a good party tune, but runs on a bit too long for my tastes.

By contrast “Opening Night” is a quick blast, with nonsensical lyrics about what I’m not sure – maybe coming out or something, who knows.

“Theme from Turnpike” is another funk-influenced number, this one a bit less embellished with more silly lyrics but again a good party dance tune.

“Little Arithmetics” has a mellow Hammond and guitar rhythm and smooth lyrics and all the earmarks of a hit single, which I guess this was somewhere, but not around here. The chaos dirge toward the end even has a sort of melodic feel to it. This is a pleasant enough listen – again, if you aren’t looking for the meaning of life in the words or anything. “Gimme the Heat” hearkens back to “Fell Off…” a bit, but wanders on entirely too long at nearly eight minutes.

The minimalist “Serpentine” has a very 90s feel and seems a bit puerile with plucked violin ala eighth-grade orchestra and chanted timing. Nothing special.

By the time “A Shocking Lack Thereof” rolls around there seems to be a fairly predictable pattern to the music, if random, incomplete thoughts can be described as a pattern. Some doctored vocals, backed by a falsetto, and more minimal sounds punctuated by the occasional guitar blast to keep the listener awake.

A couple shorter works with a bit of saxophone and sprinkled with a few obscenities that remind me a bit of some of the more lipstick latter punk or unconvincing grunge of the early 90s.

“Guilty Pleasures” is one of the few songs here that is rather short on lyrics, but not much in terms of musical arrangements either, more just a repetitive riff punctuated by sparse drums tracks and moody spoken-word ramblings.

The start of “Nine Threads” sounds like a smooth jazz number, which is a bit jarring considering what has come before it. I can’t help but think of Harry Nilsson when I hear the vocals, but the snare, keyboards and brass are more like a cheesy lounge act.

“Disappointed In The Sun” and “For the Roses” would seem like attempts at some post- rock mood music if it weren’t for the vocals, which are closer to scruff rock, repetitive and wrapped in screeching guitar and simple beats.

The closing “Wake Me Up Before I Sleep” is pure indie, Leonard Cohen meets Ben Folds Five cum Warren Zevon. A mellow end to a largely inconsequential album.

This is an okay piece of music, a decent listen while reading a book or sitting around in the back yard on a lazy day, but something that won’t stand the test of time, as evidenced that I bought it for $7 USD, only to find I could have bought it new off Amazon for only a dollar more. Three stars is a very noncommittal rating, and appropriate.

peace