(((((OPENmind/SATURATEDbrain))))): DESIDERATA

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

DESIDERATA

This post's artist is from the May 2013 Mix, this is track #7.
Band: DESIDERATA
Genres: Ska / Screamo / Punk Rock / Post-Hardcore
Related artists: N/A
Country: Edmonton, Canada
Years Active: 2003-now...? (active according to facebook)
Song: Fritz Called Magnum
Album: We Are Not Convinced There Has Been Any Improvement
Year: 2006
For fans of: Q and Not U, Sweetheart, The Blood Brothers, Despistado, The Fall of Troy, The Sound of Animals Fighting and whatever "good" ska bands are out there.

The name DESIDERATA either comes from a Max Ehrmann poem or is a character in Terry Pratchett's 'Discworld' series. I didn't have to research the Discworld information, so let's hope I know my shit and that these guys were very talented nerds with a great sense of humour.

DESIDERATA's debut album, 'We Are Not Convinced There Has Been Any Improvement', is nearly flawless, as it couples chaotic post-hardcore/screamo with ska. Yeah, ska. And holy shit does it work well. You've got bouncy and happy sounding instrumentals bopping along - combined with two vocalists screaming call-and-response over the fucking place. It's quite the juxtaposition. They have tracks that involve some very positive sounding riffs, only to have them dashed and shredded by all of the screaming, with "Why Sell When We Can Burn It Down" and "I Fell Through A Crack In The Ice" being prime examples. They also rip through "Fritz Called Magnum", the quintessential track from their debut - and the lone song with clean singing. If there was a single on this album, Fritz is the closest thing to it.

'Alcohawk' also has the vocalists doing a lot less screaming and a lot more sassy shouting, but I would say that without a doubt that this is the weaker album (I won't bother touching on the EP). Tracks like "Bowling Hall Bitter Love Scene" sound like a mixture of Q and Not U and Portugal. The Man with more electronics and yelling, while "Fable Table" is a blazing punk number that sounds eerily like the Ohio-based band, Sweetheart. Then you have the random songs like "Soccer With Socrates", which, when looking at the title, is pretty self-explanatory about how seriously the band takes themselves.

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Click on the releases below for links to free album downloads via bandcamp! THANK YOU DESIDERATA!!!