If a band breaks up after five or six strong albums, you are sad, yet pleased at such a high record of output. If a band peak in their infancy but lose their touch come the end of their career, you feel maybe it had to be. If a band breaks up after releasing one stunning EP and just completing the recording of their debut album, which also happens to be a work of art, then it is just downright frustrating. And this is the category where the now defunct Canadian four piece Despistado now settles.
It was the bands debut EP ‘The Emergency Response’ which initially put them on the map and within seconds of the opening chords chiming away I felt instantly enamoured with the sheer infectiousness of it all. Dancy, pacy, and alarmingly tight is are the key areas in which Despistado excel, and they couldn’t pull it off better if they were to record all year round.
Starting with the rawkus ‘Burning House’, all the way through to the stomping closer ‘My Definition of a Tragedy’ the album is a joy to behold. But while the likes of the former display the jumping dancing guitars cascading from note to note, it is left to some of the more subtle efforts such as ‘If Relationships…’ and ‘The People of and Their Verses’ to really fly the flag for the album. While neither is as instantly appealing as other efforts, both are great examples of songs being driven more by melody and structure than the need for a quick dance fix.
Other standouts include the rockabilly ‘Victim’ with the melody swerving erratically throughout while the only time the band really ever let go of the norms they set themselves is on the outstanding ‘Broken’. When they broke up earlier this year the band sent shockwaves across the scene as many, including this reviewer couldn’t believe there eyes as it was just what our over populated scene needed, some new original faces. While they are gone, they are certainly not forgotten, and ‘The People of and Their Verses’ is a fitting send off to punks once great young hopes.
Jay
www.despistadomusic.com
Jade Tree Records