NO MORE LOUD MUSIC - THE SINGLES

This is a 90's rock band from Belgium, not progressive per se, but mixing various styles of popular music in a very daring way and thus definitely deserving their place in the Prog Related category. dEUS was totally new to my ears yesterday when I started to play their singles compilation. 'Suds & Soda', their debut, was a letdown, noisy and punkish on-your-face -type of a song. Then gradually the songs sounded better and better, and even the melting pot style - also within songs - works surprisingly well. They really sound like dEUS, as kaleidoscopic as they are. I wonder if the title No More Loud Music reflects their progression towards less aggressive expression and closer to intelligent pop comparable to 10CC or Nits. The vocalist reminded me of Elvis Costello.

I can't yet say if I fall for their music; it requires more listenings. But the least I can say is that it's a promising acquaintance. dEUS is clearly above the common rock and despite even sudden changes in tempo and style the music is basically accessible pop/rock without a disturbing artificial nature. They throw in some hard rock, reggae, acid/house, to name a few, without staying long in any of them. Some of the later tracks employ also female background vocals. Check it out.