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The Deathray Davies
The lead singer of this six-piece Dallas band is blessed with a classic, sneering, snotty punk rock voice but chooses to pair it with sweet little melodies and big fat power pop harmonies, mixed up with touches of wacky theremin, fuzzed-out guitar lines, and more than a sprinkle of crashing drums, exuberant tambourine, and bouncy keyboards. Eminently danceable and tons of fun for those of you who appreciate retro-rock. It's lo-fi pop that meanders around, dreaming of being in the Kinks (or is that being the Kinks themselves?), hopping and bopping.
The Davies make good use of clever wordplay (one of my favorite lines of all time: "There's too much ulterior in your motive"), repeated motifs (check all the "They Stuck Me In A Box In The Ground" songs -- I think they're on "Part 9" by now), and an abundance of hooks ("I Regret The Day I Tried to Steal Daniel's Ego" and "Is This On?"). Their last album, Midnight at the Black Nail Polish Factory, was one of my favorites of 2003 which nobody else seems to have heard. The Deathray Davies are much like that obviously wasted skinny hipster boy in the corner booth of the bar who can't stop talking about the same three things but you still love them nonetheless because they're so adorable; it's nothing entirely ground-breaking, but the pure joy in these songs is apparent in the first listen.
The Deathray Davies - The Girl Who Stole The Eiffel Tower
The Deathray Davies - Is This On?
The Deathray Davies - I Regret The Day I Tried to Steal Daniel's Ego
The Deathray Davies - Maggie Doesn't Blink
The Deathray Davies official site. Buy Midnight at the Black Nail Polish Factory from the band's web store, iTunes Music Store, or Amazon.
Posted by Queen of the Front Row at 02.27.05 at 9:52 PM
Comments
Heh, actually - the title for "There's Too Much Ulterior In Your Motive"? I came up with it.
Posted by: Andrew Hime at 03.07.05 at 8:43 AM
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