Deas Vail - All the Houses Look the Same Release Date: March 6, 2007 Record Label: Brave New World Records
With fledgling record labels popping up like summer weeds, there is certainly a multitude of places someone can look for the next big thing. In fact, it has almost come to the point of saturation, to where there are maybe even too many artists being thrown at listeners' ears. So really, in such a landscape, would you expect to find a future breakthrough artist from Arkansas, and on an unknown, wet-behind-the-ears label at that? Obviously not, but being proven wrong feels pretty damn good when the yield is a band like Deas Vail.
At first glance, Deas Vail does not appear to wander all that far outside the confines of traditional, perhaps even stale piano balladry, but this turns out to be a rash, hasty assessment. True, the band knows its strength, and primarily resides within those boundaries, but they are still a great deal more advanced than the majority of key mashers. Overall, Deas Vail embraces moods and sounds that are ethereal and elegant, tossing around shimmering, light guitar lines and snappy drum notes, but these contributions are secondary to the group's core of thoughtful piano arrangements building a foundation for Wes Blaylock's stunning vocals. As far as frontmen in the scene go, there is plenty of talent out there, but Blaylock's cool, earnest delivery and glass-breaking falsetto elevates him to the upper echelon of singers you can hear today. Thus, it comes as little surprise to read that he has been classically trained. Overall, it turns out to be a necessity, since the rest of DV provides relatively minimal amounts of instrumentation, essentially relying on Blaylock to carry the band's songs - a task he is more than up to.
All the Houses Look the Same begins on a somber, lonely note with "Standing...", which along with "...Still" (a single track from the Collapse EP wisely split), bookend the LP in a set of sensitive, bittersweet caps. Between those walls, we are exposed to slight variations on the same formula the group carries out so well. Taps of the keys range from the energetic and driving ("Light As Air" and "Lover's Charm") to the more subdued, serving more of an accent role ("For Miles to Come"). However, everything seems to come together when Laura Hudson's use of the ebony and ivory hits the heartbreakingly beautiful sound realized on "Shoreline" - arguably the record's standout track. As before, though, a pretty instrumental melody does not make Deas Vail a complete package. Tracks like "Shoreline" truly gleam under the applications of Wes's standard delivery. But when his shrill, yet remarkably controlled falsetto kicks in for the last minute and a half, the rest is just gravy.
Overall, there is a lot to like about a band like Deas Vail. They make simple, honest songs about simple, honest subjects. Christian listeners will be pleased to note the decidedly religious slant to the band's lyrics, but secular listeners will by no means be turned off on the same account, as references are restrained and far from "preachy." The album could use a bit more variation in between songs to throw a bone to less focused listeners, and could even stand to take itself a little less seriously at times. However, these are somewhat minor when stacked up against all of the positives going for a band like this. For a debut release from a new artist, All the Houses Look the Same is an incredible release. All new labels should be as fortunate as Brave New World is with this one - the potential with everything surrounding this release is undeniable.
yeah, ive seen that. The fact that they pull a song like that off live (or, i guess, the singer) is mind boggling. The dude's got talent, its like oozing out of his perfectly quaffed hair or something.
yeah, ive seen that. The fact that they pull a song like that off live (or, i guess, the singer) is mind boggling. The dude's got talent, its like oozing out of his perfectly quaffed hair or something.
Haha, they are indeed a group of fine looking kids. Very marketable.
Love these guys. They're on the same label as The Wedding, which is actually how I found out about them. And I agree, Shoreline is the best on the album, and one of my favorite tracks of the year so far.
Love these guys. They're on the same label as The Wedding, which is actually how I found out about them. And I agree, Shoreline is the best on the album, and one of my favorite tracks of the year so far.
Great review Steve, couldn't have said it better.
Thanks dude. Yeah I am looking forward to hearing The Wedding's album. This label is off to one hell of a start.
Great to have you back, Steve. This is my favorite album of the first quarter of 07, and is definitely one of the better debuts I've heard in a long time.
Also, I have no idea how a nothing label like that managed to pick up two awesomely talented bands out of thin air, but kudos to them. I can see both of these bands being traded up to Majors very soon.
Great to have you back, Steve. This is my favorite album of the first quarter of 07, and is definitely one of the better debuts I've heard in a long time.
Also, I have no idea how a nothing label like that managed to pick up two awesomely talented bands out of thin air, but kudos to them. I can see both of these bands being traded up to Majors very soon.
i've seen deas vail live 4 times now (first time being at cornerstone) and i love seeing them everytime. wes's vocals are stellar and i agree probably best vocalist around today. i recently did a review of this cd for my school's newspaper. they deserve some attention. probably my "new band" of 2007 (they were actually my new band of 2006 but they didn't have a full length out yet, so they can be for 2007 as well). nice review. The only thing i would add is "Anything You Say" is probably the catchiest song on the album and i think could be a single on radio stations nationwide. it's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head all day that radio people would love it. But yeah, great album!! And the people in the band are so nice too. i hope they get huge!
The only thing i would add is "Anything You Say" is probably the catchiest song on the album and i think could be a single on radio stations nationwide. it's one of those songs that gets stuck in your head all day that radio people would love it.
I agree to the fullest. The first time I heard that song I was thinking, "Wow, this could go far."
The rest of the songs are good as well, but that one stands out to me the most.
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