Marriage [Translucent Red Vinyl]

by Deap Vally

Overview

Now that two-piece rock bands are no longer considered an anomaly, high-energy duos are expected to have ready answers to the question of how you keep things fresh and change up your sound when there are only two instruments to contend with. Deap Vally, consisting of guitarist and singer Lindsey Troy and drummer Julie Edwards, showed they knew how to deliver primal, stripped-back rock on their first two albums (2013's Sistrionix and 2016's Femejism), and their third full-length, 2021's Marriage, finds them expanding and exploring a bit after firmly establishing their template of straightforward hard rock with a side of blues and a dash of glam. Through the magic of overdubbing, Troy has added several extra layers of guitar on most of the tracks here, as well as multiplying her half-breathy, half-sneering insouciant vocals into massed choruses and casual but passionate harmonies. She's also included additional guitar lines that function like keyboard parts in this context, such as the buzzy single notes on "I Like Crime" that can pass for electric piano in dim light, and Edwards' drumming shows a bit of R&B nuance that wasn't always audible before. Marriage is very much a rock album, but in terms of the melodies and instrumental tricks, Deap Vally are more informed by contemporary pop on these songs, and on "High Horse" (featuring guest spots from Peaches and KT Tunstall), she delivers like a high-attitude R&B diva who can do her own rap feature, thank you very much. And the moody, atmospheric closer "Look Away" turns things down without dialing back on the intensity. Though Deap Vally have found new ways to dress up their music on Marriage, at their core they haven't changed that much -- this is still a smart, powerful rock band with sharp wit and an abundance of well-deserved confidence -- but the added details and textures make a difference, and this music points to a more interesting future for them than one might have imagined after Femejism. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	07/29/2022
Label:	Cooking Vinyl
UPC:	0711297529814
Rank:	91319

Tracks

1. Perfuction
2. Billions
3. Magic Medicine
4. I Like Crime
5. Phoenix
6. Give Me a Sign
7. Better Run
8. I¿¿¿m The Master
9. High Horse
10. Where Do We Go
11. Tsunami
12. Look Away

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Deap Vally   Primary Artist
Peaches   Featured Artist
KT Tunstall   Featured Artist
Andy Stavas   Bass,Organ,Piano,Saxophone,Percussion
jennylee   Featured Artist
Jennie Vee   Featured Artist

Technical Credits

Allen Salmon   Composer
Josiah Mazzaschi   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Additional Production
Harvey Mason, Jr.   Producer
Peaches   Composer
Lindsey Troy   Group Member
KT Tunstall   Composer,Producer
Andrew Hey   Engineer
Chris Kasych   Engineer
Andy Stavas   Engineer
Andrew McGranahan   Design,Collage
Alex Deyoung   Mastering
Deap Vally   Composer,Producer
Julie Edwards   Group Member
Dan Fernandez   Mixing,Composer
Sol Turpin   Vocal Engineer
jennylee   Composer
Oliver Roman   Engineer
Jennie Vee   Composer
Ericka Clevenger   Photography
Joe Assef   Engineer
Kelsey Hart   Collage