Degaussed is a four-piece Post-Rock outfit based out of Wyandotte, Michigan. Made up of vocalist Matt LaFramboise, guitarist Luke Salbert, bassist Chris Beaubian, and drummer Jake Tyrna, these guys’ mix of traditional post-rock, experimental instrumentals, and almost philosophical lyrics make for an interesting combination, and their dedicated local following shows it. They have, impressingly, played with bands that have played with established acts, such as the band Robbers who went on tour with Brand New. Degaussed’s debut EP, released at the tail end of summer 2009, called “165”, shows the qualities I mentioned before perfectly. I won’t really be doing a track-by-track review like my previous review of Dead & Gone’s EP “Catharsis”, but more or less a quick overview.
Starting with the track “Entropy”, you can get a glimpse of their style of playing and usually the first track on here is what will determine if you’re going to be a fan or not. The cryptic lyrics, combined with multilayered and complicated instrumentals and rhythms, show that this is a band that know how to combine all of their individual talents together into something quite extraordinary. From the slow paced numbers like “Hiding in a Bay Window” to the spoken word interlude in “Guarding Your Mistakes With Prayer”, the risks this band is willing to take makes them a force to be reckoned with.
The only gripe that I really have with this EP is the production on a few tracks. There are points where the guitars can almost drown out the drums, and points where there’s some audible popping and clipping in the tracks themselves. It’s not enough to really affect someone’s listening experience though, as the music is still immensely enjoyable, and it’s definitely hard, if not impossible, to find anything close to them in this scene.
Degaussed is currently recording their first full-length album to be released in the fall of 2011, with a tour possibly following soon after. They are currently signed to Biddle Records, which operates out of Nevada. This is definitely a band that shouldn’t be missed.
Official website: http://www.degaussed.net/index.html
Overall rating: 4 out of 5
Choice Cuts: “Entropy” “Guarding Your Mistakes with Prayer”
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