Username

Password

Register - it'll be fun

x
• New: Extra features for registered users, register to see your homepage.
• SxSW 2008: See the best online coverage of this year's festival - click here for news and pics

dEUS: Vantage Point

25th April 2008 | by Aidan Williamson

Cast your eyes to the right and you'll see what impressed us most about dEUS' latest album. It was not the lyricism, nor the varied pace, nor the experimentalism with sonic textures, but the humble artwork.

In one still illustration, the question as to whether the chaos we endure on our planet, indecipherable from the middle of it, somehow has some meaning were we able to step back, with the benefit of far-sight, or a vantage point, if you will.

That such a response can be drawn from such a simple thing makes it all the more disappointing that the album itself fails to truly connect on the majority of the major levels.

dEUS are a band who resonate the strongest when they're pitched to extremes. The slow-paced tracks, such as "Eternal Woman", "Smokers Reflect" and album closers "The Vanishing Of Maria Schneider" and "Popular Culture" conjure up a graceful presence which are at once penetrative and meaningful.

Conversely, when the boys from Belgium ramp things up to a quicker tempo, results are equally fetching. "The Architect" drafts for itself an impressive blueprint comprising a propelling beat, head-invading rhythm and hook and the rather nifty use of samples for backing vocals.

Problematically, dEUS spend far too much time in the arid middle-ground of unappealing road-centre rock. Or, even worse, when they attempt hip-hop rhythms like on opener "When She Comes Down". Thankfully this quickly dissolves into a soulful, chilled vibe that washes any Vanilla Ice nightmares clean away.

This ability to turn songs on a dime counts as an enviable feather in the quintet's cap, shifting in to a different gear abruptly, with little, or no damage to the cogs.

What is somewhat incomprehensible is why on Jupiter they selected "Slow" to be the lead single off of "Vantage Point", perhaps the most flaccid, uninspiring exhibit on show. There is little, if anything which will make this visible in such a crowded marketplace. For all intents and purposes, it's like a game of 'Where's Wally' at Southampton football club.

Single ire aside though, fans will find plenty to trawl for with "Vantage Point", and there's enough contemporary appeal to draw in newbies to this band now approaching their second decade together.

Rating:  6 / 10