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The Deadnotes

I'll Kiss All Fears Out Of Your Face

Written by: PP on 08/03/2017 21:44:18

Few vocalists sing with as raw passion and emotion than Darius from The Deadnotes. The trio plays a specific brand of indie-flavored emo/alternative that's arguably Germany's best equivalent to a band like Moose Blood or Have Mercy. Each line is delivered with a youthful spirit and passion through a crackling voice, surrounded by hair-raising indie/alternative melodies and backing vocals that complement the expression nicely.

The emotional charge is intense and relatable, especially when delivered with the low-to-mid-tempo approach as it is done throughout debut album "I'll Kiss All Fears Out Of Your Face". It feels as if the vocals are just about to break into a full blown scream the whole time without fully getting there, balancing on a razor-thin line against the ravaging style that many post-hardcore bands possess. Utilizing that dynamic, The Deadnotes achieve many a moment throughout the album where they sound like one of the best bands in their genre, one of these being on "All Tied Up" during its melody-explosion that falls back into a quieter passage straight after. If it doesn't bring you chills down your back, emotionally charged music probably isn't for you. It's precisely the sort of thing that groups like Dikembe and Apologies, I Have None have been purveying for years now.

But here's the thing. When The Deadnotes are good, they are really good. The best moments of the album are awe-inspiring examples of emo done right. However, the album's strength is simultaneously its biggest weakness: there's so much focus on the emotional charge that it spills over, resulting in more muted and anonymous sing-along passages compared to, say, Moose Blood. Variety is the other issue. There's little change in tempo or delivery style, resulting in eleven songs worth of raw, passionate emo/alternative but with few chances to properly distinguish the songs from each other.

That said, the bottom standard is high throughout. Fans of the genre will like lots of like here, just like the undersigned. With some fine-tuning and songwriting experience, it wouldn't surprise me if the next Deadnotes album will be an underground classic. And with beautiful songs like "Sad & Done" and "Favourite Shirts", "I'll Kiss All Fears Out Of Your Face" is already a solid album that stays true to its genre throughout its 42 minutes of playtime. Recommended.

Download: Favourite Shirts, All Tied Up, Sad & Done
For the fans of: Apologies, I Have None; Have Mercy; Dikembe; Moose Blood
Listen: Facebook

Release date 07.10.2016
KROD Records