Dead Air – ‘ELEMENTS’

By Ian Kenworthy

Time moves on. Bands form and fold. Songs that once meant something fade into the past. As you grow older and tastes change, sounds go in and out of style but there’s a time that’s your era. A time where everything is new and exciting, that defines who you are. If you’re lucky, it overlaps with a band like Dead Air.

At the start of the year, your inbox is filled with optimistic bands. Dead Air’s debut EP ‘Elements’ has artwork that makes it stand out, it’s a little more creative. That extends to the music. It’s interesting, an alt-rock/post-hardcore sound in a vaguely similar vein to Phoxjaw or Bad Sign. There’s a certain Hundred Reasons’ B-sides sound there too because it’s not straightforward and fascinating. The songs are understated and there are no obvious bangers. The music appears more experimental than anything because there’s a certain feeling-their-way-in-the-dark to the way the instruments intertwine. It doesn’t exactly leap out. So you listen to it a bit more. And then, suddenly, it clicks; This is genius.

With four songs, the EP is a great introduction to Dead Air. As with any release, the songs are tied to the way they were recorded. Their personality is a product of the production process. There’s a honest, grubbiness to the sound that really works with the music they’re making. It’s pretty lo-fi but there’s a thrill to the heavy tapped snare that opens ‘Die’ and the way the filthy bass chuggs its way in. It’s a really great intro as by the time the guitars arrive you can see how the music is layered and with each instrument given own space it makes songs feel both deep and massive.

Once you hear how the band is making music, their branching, root-like style becomes a clear strength. The layering and way the vocals are woven make the delightfully noisy ‘Love And Patience’, with its rough guitar solo and hammering breakdown, a delight but it’s the closing two tracks which are the most impressive as you can really hear each part moving in harmony. ‘Violently Blue’ offers a little more space, showing the workings of their songcraft and allowing the vocals to lean more into the music while ‘Breathe’ feels like a culmination and the clearest expression of their sound; The layers, the vocal, the whole vibe is excellent.

‘Elements’ might not be the most immediate of records but Dead Air have a clear sense of self and their work is more subtle than you might think. It takes a little time to chew, but it’s the best type of debut, the four strong songs leave you dying to know what they make next. Hopefully we’ll be talking about them in twenty-odd years’ time.

IAN KENWORTHY

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