"Difficult third album syndrome" is a real thing and it is something more than a few bands and artists have struggled with over the years, the "syndrome" usually manifests itself after a band/artiste has released an impressive debut then follow up said debut with a killer second album that takes many of the ideas explored on the debut up to a whole other level. This is where problems start because now the band/artiste is expected to either better that killer second album or at least deliver something of a similar level of quality while at he same time trying to show the world that they are evolving as musicians and songwriters. Of course their are just as many bands and artists who never suffer difficult third album syndrome, bands and artistes who just seem to be able to follow one great album up with another of equal magnitude, one after another, and this seems to be the case with Cologne's Daevar.
Daevar, Moritz Ermen Bausch (drums); Caspar Orfgen (guitars) and Pardis Latifi (bass/vocals) burst onto the scene in January 2023 with their debut "Delirious Rites" and in the same month grabbed a #16 spot on the Doom Charts, this was followed by the excellent "Amber Eyes" (March 2024) which bettered its predecessor by hitting #9 on the Doom Charts as well as #11 on our own Desert Psychlist best of list for that year. The band have just released their third album "Sub Rosa" (The Lasting Dose Records) and although the trio do not make music with the sole intention of featuring in lists or charts Desert Psychlist fully expects that this swooning and majestic grungy doom opus will be appearing in many.
© 2025 Frazer Jones
Daevar tend to throw around terms like "doomy grunge" and "cloudy lo-fi" when describing their music and as descriptions go those terms pretty much nail what the band bring to the table sonically. Muscular refrains and rumbling rhythms twinned with soaring, swaying vocal melodies are what Daevar are all about and the J.D. Salinger inspired opening number "Catcher In The Rye" is the perfect example of this approach. Here we find Orfgen and Latifi laying down dank dark six and four string riffage supported by Bausch's thunderous Bonham-esque drumming, Latifi doubling up on her bass duties with a vocal that sits somewhere between lilting and haunting, her fey tones flowing over the songs backdrop of moody heaviness like honey over razorblades. There is a Nirvana-esque feel to the guitar tone Orfgen chooses to introduce next song "Siren Song" but any comparisons that can be made with Kurt Cobain's less than merry men soon go out of the window when Daevar launch into a groove that is far more occult rock than it is Seattle grunge accompanied by lilting vocal that carries a similar mystical flavour. "Wishing Well" follows and sees Latifi's low bass tones, Bausch's drums and Orfgen's crunchy guitar textures create a thunderous proto-metallic noise for Latifi's to then decorate with a smooth undulating vocal, no screaming lead guitar work to be found here this is a song that lives and dies on its melody. Next song "Wishing Well" finds Latifi voicing an ethereal vocal melody over grooves of dank doom tinted with elements of alternative metal, the songs main guitar motif possessing a very Cobain-like feel but one that sounds like it is is being driven through a wall of amps belonging to either Conan or Monolord. "Mirrors" follows and starts of with Bausch beating out a rather upbeat drum tattoo but any thoughts that Daevar were about to launch into anything remotely rock'n'roll are dashed when he is joined by Latifi and Orfgen in a groove that although slightly more strident than what has passed previously most definitely does sit in that "cloudy lo-fi" pocket they have made their own, though having said that Latifi's vocals do possess an extra element of swing here. Fans of Windhand, The Devil's Blood and bands of that ilk will find much to enjoy about the following "The Forgotten Tale", Latifi's vocals are here delivered lower and a touch more monotonic and this adds a slightly more haunting quality to the proceeding, however there is nothing monotonic about Orfgen's sizzling solo that features in the songs final quarter, it is piercing, soaring and awash with colour. Finally we arrive at closing number "FDSMD" this features everything there is to love about this band in one song, booming low end, thunderous drumming, searing lead work and swooning swaying vocals all wrapped up in their distinctive low-fi cloudiness.
Whether Daevar found their third full length release a "difficult" album to make we will probably never know but it is certainly not a difficult album to listen to, in fact it is an absolutely delightful listening experience from start to finish. Thinking about it "Sub Rosa", could well be the best "cloudy lo-fi doomy grunge" album of the year, albeit in a field of one.
Check it out ...
No comments:
Post a Comment