Deanmoore: Three Steps

For many bands and artists, to be ‘progressive’ usually means to either immerse themselves in well-trodden retro kitsch (so, technically, the opposite), or to carve out a musical path so daring and unforeseen it delights and stupefies in its absence of reference points. For Dutch trio Deanmoore, they have remembered something else entirely: how to traverse through rolling dynamics and moods whilst maintaining an unashamed pop sensibility. The single ‘Three Steps’, the follow-up to their most popular Spotify release ‘Cannot Run/Cannot Hide’, attests to their proficiency in this approach.

Lyrically, the track muses on the erosion of youthful arrogance in the wake of lost love and its resulting humility which the music attempts to charter. The start of the track is propelled by wide-eyed piano and wistful guitar, calling to mind the more tolerable moments of Keane or Coldplay, and establishing a charming naiveté to its character reflecting the ‘What-did-I-do?’ nature of the lyric. The drumming is sympathetic and tasteful yet restrained; emphasising the ‘stabs’ of the melody. None of the playing here showy, which is to the group’s credit as the lyric could risk falling into glibness were it just a pretext for sterile displays of finesse.

Reinterpretations of the central hook never forsake its core pop pleasantness; even as a particularly hostile guitar is introduced, accentuating the regretful lyric. They just about get away with the spoken word section near the end before the tracks rides off into the sunset in understated fashion. Whatever cerebral exploration the track lacks, it makes up for in earnest and direct delivery. A concise, sincere, sometime frenetic eight minutes that breezes by unobtrusively. It’s nice to hear relatively young prog acts that don’t run from tunefulness.

Line-up:
Nils Wiegernick (Guitar, Vocals)
Harmen Stortelder (Bass)
Roel Soltenborg (Drums)

Track Listing
1) Three Steps

Added: February 1st 2021
Reviewer: Martin Delaney
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 558
Language: english

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