A chugging, amassing creation that isn’t too dissimilar to the Muse you wish you would hear, this new offering from Brightonians Demob Happy is, in all honesty, pretty fucking good. Starting with a ridiculously distorted bass that rumbles through and just refuses to relent, just how we like it, the guitars join in, and the song becomes an entity unto its own.

Their first new music since Demob Happy’s debut back in 2015, ‘Dead Dreamers’ is full of the kind of sleaze you yearn for from rock ‘n’ roll, something that just exudes a drunken swagger. Demob Happy are an embodiment of what’s been missing for a while in guitar music. As mentioned previously, there are supremely Muse-like elements – think the rockier side of ‘Absolution’ – but without the air of pretence. This is roots rock ‘n’ roll, no qualms about it.

Getting back into the make-up of the track, the verses from frontman Mark Marcantonio use a similar fashion to UK punk pioneers The Stranglers. It’s a delivery that matches the same chugging style of the music behind it, with a British strictness that doesn’t actually take itself too seriously. Continuing along with The Stranglers’ theorem, references to “dead preachers in a foreign town” brings to mind the use of similar religious matter in The Stranglers ‘Nice ’n’ Sleazy’. It’s like taking a walk through of the best bits of British rock music.

Though all this is good and well, it’s the chorus where the track breaks out into a roaring, epic monster. The chugging rhythm turns into a full-on furnace of power. Synths even join the mix to add a lighter layer, accentuating the soaring falsetto that Marcantonio engages. His voice is unrelenting throughout, the vocals hovering above the beautiful chaos below until it drops and turns back into its simpler self.

The confidence both the band and track show throughout ‘Dead Dreamers’ is mirrored in the architecture. It sticks to the standard verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, etc. It doesn’t need to be more than what it is: a great track that will awake your inner rocker and get you living your life. It’s a notion that’s reciprocated in the video for the track. The band influence three puppets of themselves into becoming…well, themselves. A visual testament to the insular nature of guitar music and the cyclical nature of influence. Or it’s just because puppets are cool. Everybody loves puppets.

‘Dead Dreamers’ is a track that has the makings of being a rock staple, with ballsy bass lines, vocals that are filled with depth, meaning and unapproachable highs. There’s something special that Demob Happy have that should surely see their eventual follow-up album be something we should all keep watch for.

9/10

Demob Happy single ‘Dead Dreamers’ is out now on Atlantic Records imprint Taste and Tone. Catch up on TGTF’s past coverage on the Brighton rockers, including their appearance at Live at Leeds 2016, through this link.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The post Single Review: Demob Happy – Dead Dreamers appeared first on There Goes The Fear, a UK/US/IE Music Web site.