Deathretro are an angular, beat driven guitar band with a slice of psych who comprise of Kieran Harris (vocals & synth), Adrian Ingham (guitar & synth), Ben Robinson (bass) and Grant Henderson (drums & synth).
They return with their second studio album `The Art Of Collision` this month.
About the album, vocalist Kieran Harris says it was “Inspired by science fiction books, tales of folklore and UFO synths. We wanted to make an album that searches, probes and pulses more than the first musically and hopefully still kicks some Cumbrian ass! As we were writing and putting this collection of songs together it seemed to hang together as a whole, a slightly odd-ball rock record stimulated by music that I guess we reverted to whilst making this album (Trompe le Monde era Pixies, Depeche Mode, The Cure).”
The album opens with `Exit Point` and it`s a thumping jagged riff driven surf rock offering that has a kind of Duane Eddy meets the Munsters theme tune vibe. The title `Belgium Limousine` comes in paying homage to the great Belgian bands the quartet grew up with, (Millionaire, Soulwax, Deus). An alluring mix of electro, synth and alternative dance that will certainly have you at least twitching if not up and moving along to it.
`Dark Hoss` has a disturbing almost threatening texture with what was left unsaid as menacing as that that was. A track that has a recurring edgy ambience. A more groove laden riff driven offering follows in `Carpet Bomb` which permits a nigh on stream of consciousness to be distributed atop.
`Endlands` which could refer to a harsh environment has a real goth like shimmer about it and becomes fairly mesmerising. A search of the web revealed that a `Hexen Tooth` is a tooth from a Hexenbiest, a witch-like creature from the TV show Grimm. The word “Hexenbiest” comes from the German words “Hexe” (witch) and “Biest” (beast). The number itself rolls along with a sort of reflective touch with lyrics that could be a shared inner monologue.
‘Yellowhammer is a number about UFO`s, a throbbing pounding listen with sci-fi synths interspliced throughout this one hundred and nineteen second musing. Lead guitarist Adrian Ingham has described `Odd Day Off` as robot rock with “All the wrong Chords in the right order.” For me it was a mix of Gang of Four meets Wire meets The Fall meets Yard Act, oddly enchanting.
`Little Creatures` has a whirling dreamy not quite psychedelic but off kilter spirit that seems to drift off towards the end. The final piece is `Vostok 1` which was the first spaceflight of the Vostok programme and the first human orbital spaceflight in history, undertaken over sixty years ago. It`s a dreamlike and surreal but enticing number that does depict a real sense of this groundbreaking galactic adventure.
`The Art Of Collision` certainly creates an impact in its just over thirty minutes of life and Deathrero appear to have found that sway, belief, and confidence in their own sound. A really interesting mix of guitar riff driven electro, synth, and danceable tunes with thoughtful and more imaginative lyrical content.
Rating 8.5/10
