Commencement
Deadsy's debut has been a long time coming. Regardless of media hype, this album has been on and off the shelves for the past six years. It's a wonder it's finally seeing the light of day. At the very least, Deadsy have come up with an interesting and intriguing style. Ambient gothic tones and keyboards are entwined with '80s-style synth pop to give them a retro sound, yet distorted guitars and programmed drums bring them up to date. Vocalist Elijah Blue, son of Cher and Greg Allman, has a droning monotone style that sounds like a cross between Dave Gahan ofDepeche Modeand Peter Steele ofType O Negative. At times, it can be quite disturbing. Of the album highlights, the guitar-driven lead track, "The Key to Gramercy Park," is the most modern-rock radio-friendly of the bunch, followed by their unexpected reworking of theRushchestnut "Tom Sawyer." "She Likes Big Words" is a light and poppy throwback to early-'80s snyth pop, while the atmospheric "Brand New Love" is as lovely as it is moody. Despite their interesting textures and melodies, Deadsy's songs can sound the same after awhile and may become tiresome to the average listener.--Gail Flug