Under the Radar: Deas Vail

A few weeks ago one of my friends (I can't tell you for the life of me who; if you're a friend of mine and you read this and you can claim the following conversation a yours, tell me) and I were talking music and they dropped the name Deas Vail to me. I treated it about the same way I treat most of the rec's my friends give me; the band was added to the list of bands I should investigate, but no further action took place.

Until I get an email from someone from the Deas Vail's management firm, encouraging me to check out the band, and offering two MP3s to boot. With a name like Deas Vail I was expecting music somewhere in the metal genre, something in the ballpark of HIM. Let this reinforce the lesson that band name's can be deceiving. Deas Vail is much more accessible than modern metal. At first glance it's a ballsier form of punk; iTunes lists Anberlin among their nearest neighbors, and I likened them to The Spill Canvas. But neither of those really do the band justice. They're both fine comparisons, but Deas Vail also has a very intelligent air about them. The music might be vaguely punk-ish, but it has way more dynamic than most punk bands. Deas Vail has a very smart pop sensibility to their tracks. The lyrics and some of the music, most notably on "White Lights" could very easily be found on a Matt Nathanson album. Far from what I initially expected from both name recognition and an initial iTunes search.

Granted this praise is based solely on two songs, "White Lights" and "From Priests to Thieves", both on the White Lights EP. But those two tracks are sufficient fare to convince me to hear the new record when it comes out. I advise you folks do the same. Look for more news on this blog from Deas Vail.

Deas Vail - From Priests to Thieves [iTunes]
Deas Vail - White Lights [iTunes]

==TJ==