Deeper

Album review

Simmering in Chicago's indie underground since 2014, Deeper are a four-piece post-punk combo with an anxious glassy tone and vigorous attack. They made their first recorded volley in 2016 with "Transmogrified," an edgy cut full of sinewy guitar leads and distressing imagery that also appears here on their eponymous full-length debut for Brooklyn indie, Fire Talk. Recorded in their Chicago rehearsal space by engineer Dave Vettraino, the album somehow manages to relate the band's gritty potency as well as a sense of refinement that feels almost surgical. From the harsh bell-like tones of opener "Pink Showers" to the rousing late-album standout "Feels," the band infuse their well-honed mechanical technique with a thrilling immediacy that keeps them squarely in the moment. In Nic Gohl and Mike Clawson, Deeper have a pair of sophisticated axemen who routinely circumvent standard riffing in favor of spidery, Television-like lines that weave, bounce, jab, and do everything but strum openly. In tandem with the punchy rhythm battery of Drew McBride (bass) and Shiraz Bhatti (drums), they create a sharp interlocking musical conversation around Gohl's nervy, half-barked vocals which dip and dive amid the fray. In keeping with the band's overall efficiency, the album is brief with only a few tracks exceeding the three-minute mark. Likewise, the energy remains consistently high throughout with the dreamy "Pavement" providing the only real respite in tempo. In all, it's an exciting debut with a lean, minimalist feel and the kind of raw propulsion that also suggests Deeper's strengths as a dynamic live band.

© Timothy Monger /TiVo