Darwin Deez: Songs for Imaginative People

    (Be forewarned, the first two tracks on this album contain explicit language...) This is a double dose post today to make up for all the time I've missed and the albums I've been dying to write up but just haven't been able to yet, so if you're just showing up to read, check out the previous post as well!
    I've been looking forward to Darwin Deez's sophomore album for a long while, and Songs for Imaginative People does not disappoint, though it might not contain as many memorable songs. Arriving on the scene on February 13, 2013 on the Lucky Number label, Songs for Imaginative People is upbeat and peppy, even more so perhaps than his debut, Darwin Deez (2010--Side note, this is one time I would prefer that an artist just pump out music instead of spending all their time touring! Rant over.). Some fun background information about Deez: he attended Wesleyan University, now a secular school, which was originally named after John Wesley who founded the Methodist church movement; he used to be a rapper; and he played guitar for the Creaky Boards (which is the band that has not so much as accused Coldplay of ripping of their song "Viva la Vida" from "The Songs I Didn't Write"). He currently resides in Ashville, North Carolina, which is indie music central to be sure! Just kidding.
    Darwin Deez is a guitar lover's paradise. His chords are in your face and clean and yet raw at the same time. I think it comes off that way because he doesn't muddle his music with lots of other background sounds. There's no synths or really anything that isn't created by drums, guitars or his own voice--such a unique voice at that, probably one the thing that I really like the most about Darwin Deez. A few songs here and there contain electronically induced noises, but they are tasteful and not overdone. That and his quirky  rhythms and memorably melodies that get stuck in your head, like the songs, "(800) HUMAN" (I like how he sort of incorporates the [structure of the] Lord's prayer into the lyrics) and "Free (The Editorial Me)"--one of his all time best songs! There is a fantastic music video for that song, btw, check it out on YouTube or I believe his website, here. There's also a sort of fake beat feel to some songs, like "All in the Wrist" and one song is definitely 80's inspired, "Moonlit". I just love the juxtaposition between the flowing and lyrical sections of a piece and the alternative grungy guitar. Deez takes more liberty with his guitar this time around too, with little solos instead of relegating it to just rhythm.
    Well, this post is somewhat short, but I have already written up Darwin Deez before, so you may already have an idea of what his music is like, or if not check out my previous entry using the tags at the bottom of this post. And, listen, listen, listen. Check out the full stream of Songs for Imaginative People on his Bandcamp site, here. Or, just want a nibble, hear the song "Free (The Editorial Me)" over under the 'Monthly Sample Tracks. I do hope you enjoy what you hear!