Deftones - Diamond Eyes

A month later than planned…

I have an incredibly soft spot for Deftones, their third, career defining album ‘White Pony’ soundtracked the summer I sat my GCSEs, contained the heaviest thing I had ever heard at that point (‘Elite’) and introduced me to the band of a certain Maynard James Keenan, a band for whom my love can only be described (much like Jesus) as ‘a bit gay’.

'White Pony’ set them apart from the nu-metal bands they were lumped in with following their debut ‘Adrenaline’ (and the dreadful ‘Back to School (Mini Maggit)’ which butchered the beautiful, epic ‘Pink Maggit’), to me, they always seemed to have much more in common with Sacramento cohorts Far and Will Haven than Limp Bizkit or Korn.
In the intervening decade (!!!) the Deftones’ output has been solid, but not spectacular, their self titled album, released in 2003 and 2006’s ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ followed the blueprint set out by ‘White Pony’ vaguely experimental at times, crushingly heavy one minute, hauntingly quiet the next.

The follow up to ‘Saturday Night Wrist’ was initially planned not to be ‘Diamond Eyes’, but ‘Eros’, but this (partially recorded) was put to one side in late 2008 when bassist Chi Cheng was involved in a car crash, which put him in a semi-conscious state(which he remains in). Instead, the band went back into the studio with former Quicksand bassist Sergio Vega and recorded ‘Diamond Eyes’ in just two months.

‘Eros’ was/is according to front man Chino Moreno weird, atmospheric and very very heavy, three things which partially to it’s detriment, ‘Diamond Eyes’ is not.

Despite the fact it was recorded in such a short period of time, and without pro-tools (which they started using after 1997’s ‘Around the Fur’), ‘Diamond Eyes’ sounds a little flat in places, a touch MOR metal.

Perhaps as they reportedly “practised [the songs] a million times ‘til they were perfect”. The songs do almost sound too…arranged…lacking, at times, much of a spark. Take the breakdown at the end of the opening title track, done properly, this kind of thing can feel akin to an earthquake, here though, something’s missing, it just sounds a bit…wet.

After giving a month or so to settle in, I still couldn’t tell you how many of the songs go, that lack of spark, making them to my ears and brain, rather forgettable, and at times, a little dull.

Two songs that don’t fit that description, arrive just after the halfway mark, as I usually start to lag, I’m hit with round the chops with ‘Rocket Skates’ and Chino screaming “GUNSRAZORSKNIVES” over a beast of a riff, this is followed by the most serene and beautiful moment on this record, ‘Sextape’ is simply gorgeous, a hint of the band’s electronica leanings, and Chino’s voice at it’s softest, it’s just about perfect.

Moreno’s voice is used to staggering effect throughout, just look to ‘Royal’, where he’s given the opportunity to show what he can do, velvety smooth croon to trademark squeal (like a pig when you big f*cking big f*cking argh. Eh? Eh?)

The problem with ‘Diamond Eyes’ isn’t that it’s a poor album, but in fact something that’s more difficult to pinpoint, it seems almost too tight, I’ve always heard a lot of space in Deftones’ previous work, but can’t find it here, it is what it is what it is. Deftones by numbers.

I’ve read an awful lot of very positive reviews of ‘Diamond Eyes’, I hope eventually, it’ll win me round too.

How To Destroy Angels

Like, totally OMFG!!!!!!!!!1
Sorry, not quite sure what just came over me....
Sir Trent Reznor of Nine of Nails, had previously hinted at some non-NIN material this year, How to Destroy Angels (hmmm) is a collaboration with his wife, and former West Indian Girl front woman, Mariqueen Maandig. The snooty bastards over a Pitchfork have a stream of the first fruits of the EP which will be released this summer. It's called "A Drowning", and it's really quite wonderful, the music is unmistakably the work of Reznor, the haunting piano, coupled with the glitchy synthesised drums would not have seemed out of place on NIN's 'Year Zero'. Mrs Reznor's vocals fit it so well, it's a wonder they've not worked together before.
It's produced by Alan Moulder, who has previously worked with NIN, A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, The Smashing Pumpkins and..er...Arctic Monkeys.
After feeling rather disappointed by Massive Attack's 'Heligoland' earlier this year, this might just give me my fix of broodingly beautiful darkness that I was after. hehe..

Freelance Whales - weathervanes

As far as buskers are concerned, York is somewhat of a mixed bag, on the one hand, there’s the guy with the beard, yeh, that one, but on the other there’s that other guy, you know, the one that plays ‘Comfortably Numb’ over and over and over and over and over. There are a couple of chaps with Pianos, but then there’s the guy with the violin, and the devil puppet attached to his crotch.

York’s more recent namesake, I’m sure, is a similarly diverse city in this respect, Freelance Whales (I know, awful, isn’t it?) thankfully, are five of the good-uns. Forming in late 2008, rather than just playing New York’s bars and clubs, they took to it’s street corners and subway stations, rather quickly building up a reputation.

The record company blurb would have you believe that ‘weathervanes’ is a ramshackle, clunking and clattering piece of work, and at times, it is, it is also, however, for the debut of a band who formed less than a year before recording it, incredibly accomplished. Initially released last year whilst the band were still unsigned – hard to believe, considering the production quality – it, and they have now found a home at Frenchkiss Records (also home to Local Natives, The Antlers, and The Hold Steady).

Freelance Whales certainly wear their influences on their (stripy jumper) sleeves, most notably Sufjan Stevens and The Postal Service. Ben Gibbard, one half of the latter, has clearly also influenced them lyrically, charmingly awkward and naïve lines such as “I’ve arranged for your phobias to be performed by a string quartet” from the rather jaunty ‘kilojoules’ and “as you pull me from the bed, tell me I look stunning and cadaverous” from ‘Generator ^2nd Floor’ are two of the more particularly wonderful examples.

However, these influences are also the biggest problem with this record, ‘Hannah’ being a case in point, a harmless little ditty initially, the more I hear it, the more it bugs me. It manages to sound, simultaneously, like The Postal Service and The Moldy Peaches, and the phrasing in the verses is so similar to ‘Decatur, or a round of applause for your stepmother’ by Mr Stevens, it verges on plagiarism. ‘We could be friends’ is easily the most irritating song I have heard in a long time. I mean, is stretching the word “common” to a bajillion syllables really necessary?. It is on this track that the often saccharine vocals reach their diabetes inducing peak, and I find myself struggling not to skip past it on each and every listen.

Freelance Whales certainly have a lot of potential, it is, at times, astonishing that this record is the product of a band that was less than a year old. If they can find a little depth, and a bit more individuality, they could be on to something.