Dez Dare – These Days Are Wild & Blind

If you’ve paid close attention to the underground music scene, you’ve probably noticed how many artists and bands deliver good music worth spinning over and over. However, if you’re looking for a unique experience, empowered by fresh ideas and outstanding musicianship, you’ll have to take a deep dive and pick only a few music outlets capable of doing so. Dez Dare is certainly one of those musicians whose music always sounds fresh, unique, innovative, and exciting. With every new piece of material, he surprises us even more. Take “These Days Are Wild & Blind,” his latest full-length album, as an example. It consists of twelve exceptional compositions, capable of forcing even the pickiest music enthusiast to spin it all over again. The best part about it is how Dez Dare incorporated so many styles throughout the entire material, without even spoiling his initial sonic direction. Surely, psych-punk remains his primary weapon of choice, as the artist included all those fundamental elements of the genre in each segment of every song. But also, do not be surprised if you stumble upon some of the finest properties of psych rock, art punk, punk rock, noise rock, krautrock, and power pop along the way. The way these styles articulate through every song will definitely impress you. Dez Dare knows how to deal with all those layers while staying true to his initial sound, but also somehow, with every new release, his music sounds so fresh, versatile, and entertaining. Those should be qualities of every true artist, and Dez Dare’s music should exemplify how to do things right.

“These Days Are Wild & Blind” is one of those recordings with no skips, as the entire material keeps you motivate to continue listening to every upcoming song, and then repeat the experience all over again. The best part about this comprehensive collection of songs is how they reward repeated listens and then stay with you long after the last notes and beats fade away. Each composition arrives with so many layers, details, elements, tiny nuances, and surprises, so every time you spin “These Days Are Wild & Blind,” you’ll discover something new. Not to mention how every composition arrives with a perfect structure, decorated with clever arrangements, profoundly detailed segments, brilliant ideas, and incredible musicianship. Each vocal, sonic, and rhythmic maneuver has its place here. Dez Dare’s vocal performance sounds honest, powerful, but also melodic all the time, offering heart, soul, and emotional depth to every composition. His voice arrives as an additional melody over all those soundscapes. He decorates all the orchestrations and segments, while all the low, mid, and high notes sound with such precision and finesse. You can hear it in all those calm, soothing, relaxing, ethereal power pop and classic pop songs, which sound equally good as the remainder of the material. This style suits him well. In the meantime, the interplay between guitars and synths plays a significant role in shaping a perfect backdrop for all the vocals to shine upon. You’ll notice how all those raw, unfiltered, abrasive, gritty, fuzzy riffs, power chords, and other sonic maneuvers deliver aggression on one side, while all the synth leads, themes, melodies, harmonies, sequences, and pads mellow it out. These two instruments act as counterweights, delivering more aggression or melody when necessary. And there are also all those deep, dense, heavy, warm basslines, rumbling beneath guitars and synths, and delivering more than necessary detail, groove, warmth, depth, and heaviness when necessary. They bind the mentioned instrumentation with rhythmic patterns beautifully, ensuring everything works together flawlessly. Also, you’ll notice how all those perfectly programmed or expertly performed beats, breaks, fills, and other percussive acrobatics keep everything in line while dictating groove and pace. Each hit of the snare, kick of the bass drum, accentuation on hi-hat, or splash over cymbals has its place and purpose here, making this material as energetic, dynamic, and complex as possible.

“These Days Are Wild & Blind” is one of those albums where you should not skip any song. Each one of them is an absolute banger that deserves your utmost attention. Dez Dare has released another psych-punk masterpiece where his ideas, skills, creativity, experience, and knowledge are on full display. If you love fresh, unique, exciting music where each vocal, sonic, and rhyhtmic maneuver sounds abrasive and melodic at the same time, “These Days Are Wild & Blind” will be right up your alley. Do not miss this gem!