posted 2009-12-21
DEEP SLEEP is a duo from Portugal that seems to have developped a big crush on 80s pop music and DEPECHE MODE especially. The opening song "Video Girls" reminds me a bit of The FAINT and is a good hit single. This makes you rather curious about what is going to come before going darker with "Electric Floor", a pretty good song as well designed for electro goth dancefloors! That was a good choice for album starters.
On this album, synth-pop sometimes collides with 80s hard rock rhythm guitars (a la BILLY IDOL or SISTERS OF MERCY vision thing era) and this works very well on songs like "Girl Sleeper", "She Breaks My Faith", the catchy "Radio High" and the intense "Love Me One More Time (Like You Always Do)" while "The Empire Will Fall" is obviously influenced by BOWIE.
This is a quite a good album with interesting ideas but it's a pity that it sometimes fall a bit too easily into the 80s tribute trap. It wil be interesting to see how DEEP SLEEP will evolve when their own identity shows more on their next releases. A better production will probably help them as well. Well, this is well produced but this is a classic computer kind of production (like most bands in this style), probably the cheapest option but rarely the best one to give the deserved dimension to a band's music.
All in all a good surprise that should bring even better ones in the future.../Laurent.
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