Deep Cut - Different Planet

  by Steve Kinrade

published: 14 / 1 / 2019

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Review

In the throws of advancing middle age, isn't it just glorious to be transported back to a particular period of one’s youth? To tap into the festive zeitgeist, it's like being visited by the ghost of Christmas Past, and taken, hand in hand, to visit the musical highlights and milestones of one’s past. So having imported Deep Cut’s new album into I-Tunes I settled down to be transported into my musical past, and a particular time when all the rage was to stare motionless at a point of the floor in front of you... I actually thought the “shoe-gazing” era was quite exciting and actually creative. It spawned such tremendous bands like My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Chapterhouse, Ride and Lush. It also had a certain 'Englishness' to the genre, in a pastoral sense. The beauty of the music - at its best moment - had an infinite ethereal quality to it, evoking memories of better days past. 'Machine Gun' by Slowdive is a good example of this. And Lush? Arguably underrated at the time - aesthetically - but to these ears at least those songs have weathered the relentless passing of time. So if you, like me, have a certain penchant for this genre, you will be extremely pleased to listen to Deep Cut’s latest album, 'Different Planet', which lands on this one on January 19th 2019. This album is, however, not just some light “paint by numbers” pastiche of the genre: it builds on the most creative aspects to fashion an album which vastly succeeds the sum of its parts - the only way it should be. The influences are not only of the very early 90’s, but stretch a generation or two before that. For instance, the opening track 'No' has a McGuinn-esque opening, driven by the stomping back beat. And lovely, dreamy vocals, counterpointed by industrial guitar motifs... . 'Alarm Button' nods to early electro and Krautrock, giving us an hypnotic rhythm that anchors the track, giving space for vocals and other instrumentation. This track, in particular, is a production masterclass. The composition 'Different Planet' moves into the realm of the urgent, thanks to that beat. We still have the silky sheen of the vocals, the ever present in a shifting musical landscape. 'The Last Goodbye' is such a life-enhancing track, and on that The Boo Radleys would have loved to grace their musical canon. I started this review by opining about the past, and touched on the greater past, in respect to musical genres. But lets get one thing straight; the past is better left where it resides, but what is formulated there affects the present and the future. 'Different Planet' takes the glistening, sun filled vocal cadence and aesthetically fuses it with differing production values, that are at one creative but at the same time nurturing to the song. Tracks from the album are already picking up substantial national airplay, which is truly well deserved. This could well be an early contender for my 2019 album of the year. At any rate, it will seriously be a contender.

Track Listing:-

1 No
2 Still Counting
3 Washed Up
4 Hanging Around
5 Alarm Button
6 Swimming Against The Tide
7 Spiralling
8 The Last Goodbye
9 Sharp Tongues
10 Different Planet