DEALS
Surf / Garage Rock
RIYL: Surfer Blood, Acid Dad, Purling Hiss
Hailing from East Vancouver, British Columbia, DEALS pulls no punches. The trio’s music resembles something akin to surf rock with a tinge of gritty garage. Johnny is their second EP in that many years and contains jovial, non-chalant garage rock with just enough jangle to get your toes tapping.
Comprised of Brent Glasgow-Brown, Dave Warne, and Jaroslav Welz, DEALS waste no time hooking the listener with their title track. As the EP progresses the band pulls folks through with cleanly produced tracks captured by Tomáš Příleský at Carbon Life Media and mastered by Joshua Stevenson at Otic Sound.
Now, while most of the tracks don’t clock over the four-minute mark, the band shows that they don’t need sprawling compositions to keep the listener engaged. Each song contains expert riffs from Warne, but some of the most ear-catching are those contained on “Bathrobe.” The guitar has an air around it, that conjures the surf vibe, and when paired with Welz’s bass licks, the track transports the listener to a busy boardwalk on a warm summer day.
Flowing into the follow-up from “Bathrobe,” we hear “Ravens,” that contains a ruminating riff and a driving percussion section. Vocally, the trio provides an keen echo-effect that marries well with the fat bass licks provided by Welz. Warne’s guitar work shines here too, breaking into a nice solo section. Now, while both of these tracks are great, the EP closer, “Atlas” flips their sonic palette on their ear. Met with a slow-burning, fuzzed out guitar intro the evolves into a well rounded closer, the band show their not just a one-trick pony.
Ultimately, if you are looking from some bright tunes to help you through the cold gray months of winter, DEALS just might be the band for you.
