dEUS: Vantage Point
Belgian vets release their fifth album
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Friday, 25, Apr 2008 02:31
V2, out now.
In a nutshell...
Diverse. Derivative. Dreamy. Detailed. Dated.
What's it all about?
Forming in 1989, the same year as waves of revolutions swept the Eastern Bloc, Blur formed and wedding addicted actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was arrested for slapping a police officer; dEUS did not drop their first album, Worst Case Scenario, until 1994.
In A Bar, Under The Sea and The Ideal Crash followed in 1996 and 1999 and Pocket Revolution finally surfaced in 2005 following a self-imposed hiatus. In this time they have become known for their elegant, mesmerizing magnificence and twisted sounds.
Now they are back with Vantage Point to prove they can still mix it in a musical landscape where genres have liquefied and Panic at the Disco are seen as challenging.
Who's it by?
Based in Belgium's capital Antwerp, dEUS are made up of Tom Barman and Mauro Pawlowski (both vocals and guitar), drummer Stephane Misseghers, bassist Alan Gevaert and the splendidly named Klaas Janzoons (keyboards and violin).
Numerous members have come and gone over the years, but none of them left for any reason worth noting here, like eloping with another band member's grandmother.
As an example...
"Like a song that somebody sang/I'm saying something new." - When She Comes Down
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Without wanting to stereotype the good citizens of the US of A as a bunch of uneducated, self-obsessed yahoos, there are probably some people that live in Antwerp who haven't heard of dEUS.
Maybe if it somehow winds up soundtracking an unexpected hit like Lost In Translation, but that seems about as likely as anyone in Britain knowing anything about Belgium except that it is where Stella comes from.
What the others say
"There's the nagging feeling that, having broken so much ground already, this next step isn't quite taken as boldly." - Owen Hopkin, The Fly
So is it any good?
Vantage Point opens with an impressive demonstration of why dEUS are noted for their adventures in hi-fi. When She Comes Down is a shimmering take on baggy for the noughties. Fluid basslines, intricate guitar interludes, incisive percussive trinkets - it's got enough about it to bring out your inner monkey, even if it does go a bit U2 on the chorus.
Oh Your God is probably Vantage Point's peak, sounding like A Storm In Heaven-era Verve and Spiritualized collaborating on a cover of Subterranean Homesick Blues. Dramatic squirts of brass, blissful harmonies, subtle menace - this is the kind of tune that is wasted on headphones.
Disappointingly, after a good start Vantage Point falls apart like Ledley King gone white water rafting. The blissed out, strings-and-girl-from-the-Knife-laden Eternal Woman is pleasing, if a little plain, but it is the dated electro rock of Favourite Game and the painful stab at appearing relevant that is the synthy punk funk of The Architect that sees dEUS go from innovating to imitating.
The Vanishing Of Maria Schneider, featuring Guy Garvey from Elbow, shines a light as to where dEUS could and should have gone with Vantage Point. At first slow and melodious, it builds upon rolling drums and strings to offer something more heartfelt, engaging and genuine than anything else on the album.
5 /10
Kelvin Goodson
"'Based in Belgium's capital Antwerp'?... Dude, Belgium's capital is Brussels... (but the record is disappointing, I give you that...) - Mark Renton