Deacon Kind
So we were recently contacted by Jerry Archer Jr, the chap who used to play bass for Euphoria (Fresno based), who is now doing his own solo stuff once again. Going under the name of Deacon Kind, Jerry was keen for us to check out some of his tracks to see what we thought of his unique blend of different styles, resulting in music that’s personal to him and based on life experiences. To give you an idea of just how personal this music is to Jerry, he went on to tell me how his music is based on his life, through tracks such as Not Again which is about an ex girlfriend repeatedly trying to overdose, through to Redneck Hologram which is about a drunk before turning into a track about himself. Close the selection with Free In Vegas based on his experience of living and playing in that area, and I was looking forward to seeing how he managed to incorporate all of this experience into his tracks.
From the opening moments of Not Again I found myself listening intently to see how it was all going to work. Surprisingly upbeat as it gets going, there’s an almost rockabilly type sound to the initial moments of this track, but when combined with the dark and disturbing lyrical content it all transforms into a far more ominous beast, somehow sounding painful and hard without throwing the message down your throat. I love how the different elements of the track work together to create a sense of foreboding, almost telling the story that’s been experienced in a way that allows you to view it from the outside, almost like watching what was going on through the window at that exact moment in time. Most notable about the track is the lyrical content, somehow telling what is clearly a painful story in a manner which allows it to become accessible and understandable, it’s a hell of an achievement for sure.
Moving on to Redneck Holgram, the feel of the track transforms to an almost Jazz like approach, sounding disjointed at first as it gets going yet still managing to form into a track with all of the hall marks you would expect. Upbeat and jumpy once again, the music somehow gives the image of the ‘drunk’ as explained in the bio, yet somehow creates a further sound akin to lounge swing style stuff of days gone by. I love the strange and out there approach of this track, it somehow sounds like the sort of thing you could imagine accompanying a dance scene in a movie, yet also has that pain and real life content which makes it more real than just a bog standard track. Once again telling a story throughout the lyrical content, this is another track which is going to make you listen the first few times you hear it, allowing you to take in everything that’s being said and keeping you intrigued as to how the story is going to change in the end – another clever track.
Closing with Free In Vegas there’s a definite sense of ‘classic’ vegas created from the off, somehow crafting a sound which is full of glitz and show despite the dark content of the track. Imagine the sort of music which accompanies a classic scene of Vegas and you’re close to the sound that’s been achieved here, it’s like a painful combination of Country, Swing, Blues and Jazz, before throwing in key elements of Rock n Roll at other times – which clearly is a mix which shouldn’t work! Despite this, somehow, the band have made it work, and crafted a sound which once again, is going to sit you down and force you to listen, luring you in to hear the story and keeping you guessing as to how it’s going to progress at the next twist or turn.
Jerry has said that the tracks are going to be recorded professionally in the near future as the ones we were sent through are quite rough, but to be honest, I quite like the roughness to them. The sound which has been achieved here is such a mix of genres and approaches that I don’t really know where to begin with a genre, as simply it doesn’t fit in to just one. The lyrical content is dark and scary, yet reflects the dark and scary aspects of life which we come across in the news each day – only this time they’re spoken from experience meaning they carry even more weight. In all, this is a project which I can’t wait to hear more from, just to see how on earth he continues to combine such mad genres into one, well formed sound that works!
To find out more about Deacon Kind, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
From the opening moments of Not Again I found myself listening intently to see how it was all going to work. Surprisingly upbeat as it gets going, there’s an almost rockabilly type sound to the initial moments of this track, but when combined with the dark and disturbing lyrical content it all transforms into a far more ominous beast, somehow sounding painful and hard without throwing the message down your throat. I love how the different elements of the track work together to create a sense of foreboding, almost telling the story that’s been experienced in a way that allows you to view it from the outside, almost like watching what was going on through the window at that exact moment in time. Most notable about the track is the lyrical content, somehow telling what is clearly a painful story in a manner which allows it to become accessible and understandable, it’s a hell of an achievement for sure.
Moving on to Redneck Holgram, the feel of the track transforms to an almost Jazz like approach, sounding disjointed at first as it gets going yet still managing to form into a track with all of the hall marks you would expect. Upbeat and jumpy once again, the music somehow gives the image of the ‘drunk’ as explained in the bio, yet somehow creates a further sound akin to lounge swing style stuff of days gone by. I love the strange and out there approach of this track, it somehow sounds like the sort of thing you could imagine accompanying a dance scene in a movie, yet also has that pain and real life content which makes it more real than just a bog standard track. Once again telling a story throughout the lyrical content, this is another track which is going to make you listen the first few times you hear it, allowing you to take in everything that’s being said and keeping you intrigued as to how the story is going to change in the end – another clever track.
Closing with Free In Vegas there’s a definite sense of ‘classic’ vegas created from the off, somehow crafting a sound which is full of glitz and show despite the dark content of the track. Imagine the sort of music which accompanies a classic scene of Vegas and you’re close to the sound that’s been achieved here, it’s like a painful combination of Country, Swing, Blues and Jazz, before throwing in key elements of Rock n Roll at other times – which clearly is a mix which shouldn’t work! Despite this, somehow, the band have made it work, and crafted a sound which once again, is going to sit you down and force you to listen, luring you in to hear the story and keeping you guessing as to how it’s going to progress at the next twist or turn.
Jerry has said that the tracks are going to be recorded professionally in the near future as the ones we were sent through are quite rough, but to be honest, I quite like the roughness to them. The sound which has been achieved here is such a mix of genres and approaches that I don’t really know where to begin with a genre, as simply it doesn’t fit in to just one. The lyrical content is dark and scary, yet reflects the dark and scary aspects of life which we come across in the news each day – only this time they’re spoken from experience meaning they carry even more weight. In all, this is a project which I can’t wait to hear more from, just to see how on earth he continues to combine such mad genres into one, well formed sound that works!
To find out more about Deacon Kind, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls