Band: Dearist
Album: This House Has No Windows, Available now
FFO: Balance and Composure, Brand New, The Xcerts
2015 has seen a style of progression and nostalgia culminate into styles of music that expand traditional genres and make accessible pigeon holed artists to a larger audience. With the exponential popularity of genres like Pop Punk and the resurgence of grunge, it seems labelling bands to a particular style is becoming increasingly redundant.
It cannot be denied that the UK has taken a full assault on genres that a few years ago seemed predominantly dominated by American artists, however the Midlands has never seemed to be on the tip of the scenes tongue. However, there has been a thriving music culture for years that has been waiting to erupt and Wolverhampton’s Dearist look to be leading the charge to change this.
After listening to any records, it’s so easy to make comparable connections, and This House Has No Windows was a learning curve for me. I’m a HUGE Brand New fan, and after trying to dissect the technical melodies, the changing heartbeat of drums and emotive lyrics I came up with this… Dearest have crafted a great Brand New album and cut the shit. Without sticking with this comparison, there’s so many more layers to peel back that can change with each listen.
From opening track ‘Genocide’, Dearist have an intention to take you down a road you think you’ve been down before, but they’ll point out scenery you’ve never seen. There are familiar vocals that easily transition between smooth and edgy to add emphasis and show off the range that can be expected throughout. Slow building drums drive the record from track to track and shadow an atmospheric undertone that makes you take notice of the heartfelt lyrics. There were times when I swear I was listening to a Rufio record with an edgier direction, then thrown into an anthemic chorus that could easily be echoed on a live performance.
What stands out the most is the variety of styles the record showcases whilst keeping a subtly dark tone in an almost story telling sound. For example, the single ‘Fix’ begins with haunting pianos that leads into a straight up rock and roll track, which is followed by ‘Blemish’ that pulls you into an ambient grunge track that wouldn’t be out of place on a Citizen album. Some songs on the album will stand out straight away, ‘Leecher’ for instance punches you straight in the throat with an explosion of guitars and the kind of melodic verse in which any band would kill for the formula. ‘Reign’ feels like a track that was made to be listened to through headphones, from it’s hypnotic drums, interspersed with strong piano and transition of vocal distortion, it feels this should be either for your ears only or blasted from the rooftops.
One fact that is clear is that Dearist have the technical capabilities to be taken seriously to stand side by side with some of their more established peers. Their ability to fuse styles and make them into solid songs without labouring a point to be ‘too technical’ is a refreshing listen. Each song is layered with heart-heavy lyrics with an impressive vocal range to match and backed up by smart yet accessible rock and roll.
If you haven’t taken a closer look at the music scene in the Midlands, now might be the time to start looking a little more centrally. Birmingham boys Light You Up have had an extremely successful year and are making waves on the surface of the mainstream, and if this is a gateway for bands like Dearist to emerge, then we should all be excited about things to come.
The album This House Has No Windows is available now for free download – Click Here.
Twitter: @dearistband
Faceook: DearistUK
Review by Matt Henson
