Permanent Déjà Vu

We were recently contacted by Permanent Déjà Vu about their upcoming album, Palace In Flames, due for release this summer. Stating that they’ve got a lyrical depth and melodic appeal rooted in classic song writing sensibilities, these guys are out to change the direction of music and give you, the listener, something new and exciting to embrace. As such, I figured it was probably about time I stopped wittering on and got on and listened to the album!
As Turn Out The Light opens proceedings there’s an immediate transportation to a world of calm reflectiveness, a piano line leading the way whilst an urgent vocal line backs everything up. Despite the calm opening, there’s a sense of urgency created through the vocals and drum line, both working together to create a sense of poetry and movement before the full force of the band is put on show. Adding in the guitars to enhance everything further, this is a track which goes through steps which lead to the final product, a track which grows and constantly evolves as it’s played out in front of you. Behind The Door follows much the same sort of progression, once again opening with a soft and reflective piano line, testament to the bands ability to write tracks which engage the listener. Once again adding in an almost spoken vocal line the track seems to grow around you, allowing you to hear every element as it’s brought in and keeping you guessing as to how it’s going to end up. This track stands out as a highpoint on the album to me, there’s just something about the ways it’s been put together which will lure you in and keep you listening, it’s almost hypnotic as it progresses.
Dark Heat, Dark Love opens in a more conventional sense, throwing us into an almost indie rock style track as it begins and once again building around you in an almost atmospheric fashion. I particularly like how the guitars follow the vocals on this track whilst the piano continues to rove around in the background, adding in a sense of depth and keeping the track exciting and alive, it’s another intriguing mix which is sure to be a success when people hear it. Simultaneous Dreams adds a slightly different approach to the record, this time adding a sense of pace to things to speed everything up and get you moving. This is a track which is going to secure these guys as a band to see on the live scene, the fast pace creating a feeling that it’s going to be the sort of thing which gets venues shaking and moving. Photographic Memory on the other hand is a return to the reflective calm of earlier tracks, this time focusing on the female vocal line to create a sense of softness and emotion. To me, this is one of the best tracks on the album, the vocal line sounding almost haunting over the soft piano line and the track once again simply flowing out of the speakers and urging you to listen harder. Building up gradually, by the time this track comes to an end it’s impossible to see how they can better this moment, it’s sheer genius quite frankly.
Lonely Night To Sleep Without You continues this theme, once again opening with a soft piano line and flowing through the track with a sense of melody and emotion at the forefront. The male vocal returns for this track, adding in a slightly different feeling from the previous track, still continuing the soft approach but this time almost acting as an answer to Photographic Memory, almost as if it’s two sides competing for acknowledgement. Palm Reader sees a return to the more urgent style of track which, after the previous two tracks, comes as somewhat of a shock. Adding more elements into the mix once again to create a track which is not only melodic but also powerful and deep, this is another track which stands out purely for the contrasting effect it has on the album. The highlight for me though has to be the lead snippets which jump around every now and then from the guitar, it adds a sense of classic rock to things and turns this into a track which you have to hear to fully appreciate. Dangerous Dreams continues the guitar based approach and once again demonstrates why this is a band you need to hear. More urgent once again, the speed and power of this track seems to once again raise the bar, adding in a sense of distortion to fully accentuate the power of this track as a whole.
Closing with Miles To Go there’s one last chance to witness the power of clever songwriting, this time adding some strings into the mix to create a classical feel from the off, something which few bands are willing to attempt. The effect is quite stunning though as you end up simply listening, stopping what ever you’re doing and focusing 100% on the music. Adding in the guitar and vocal further develops the track and the end result is a closing track which will leave you wanting more and trying to work out how they’re going to better this album as a whole.
Permanent Déjà Vu are one of those bands which on paper, I don’t think I’m going to get on overly well with, but then hear and get blown away by. The song writing on this track is second to none, each track presenting you with a different take on the band and almost telling a story as it progresses. There are moments which are emotional, moments which are urgent and moments which are calm, but throughout the common denominator is the bands ability to keep the listener engaged and wanting to hear more. I think this is a band we’re going to be hearing much much more from!
To find out more about Permanent Déjà Vu, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls
As Turn Out The Light opens proceedings there’s an immediate transportation to a world of calm reflectiveness, a piano line leading the way whilst an urgent vocal line backs everything up. Despite the calm opening, there’s a sense of urgency created through the vocals and drum line, both working together to create a sense of poetry and movement before the full force of the band is put on show. Adding in the guitars to enhance everything further, this is a track which goes through steps which lead to the final product, a track which grows and constantly evolves as it’s played out in front of you. Behind The Door follows much the same sort of progression, once again opening with a soft and reflective piano line, testament to the bands ability to write tracks which engage the listener. Once again adding in an almost spoken vocal line the track seems to grow around you, allowing you to hear every element as it’s brought in and keeping you guessing as to how it’s going to end up. This track stands out as a highpoint on the album to me, there’s just something about the ways it’s been put together which will lure you in and keep you listening, it’s almost hypnotic as it progresses.
Dark Heat, Dark Love opens in a more conventional sense, throwing us into an almost indie rock style track as it begins and once again building around you in an almost atmospheric fashion. I particularly like how the guitars follow the vocals on this track whilst the piano continues to rove around in the background, adding in a sense of depth and keeping the track exciting and alive, it’s another intriguing mix which is sure to be a success when people hear it. Simultaneous Dreams adds a slightly different approach to the record, this time adding a sense of pace to things to speed everything up and get you moving. This is a track which is going to secure these guys as a band to see on the live scene, the fast pace creating a feeling that it’s going to be the sort of thing which gets venues shaking and moving. Photographic Memory on the other hand is a return to the reflective calm of earlier tracks, this time focusing on the female vocal line to create a sense of softness and emotion. To me, this is one of the best tracks on the album, the vocal line sounding almost haunting over the soft piano line and the track once again simply flowing out of the speakers and urging you to listen harder. Building up gradually, by the time this track comes to an end it’s impossible to see how they can better this moment, it’s sheer genius quite frankly.
Lonely Night To Sleep Without You continues this theme, once again opening with a soft piano line and flowing through the track with a sense of melody and emotion at the forefront. The male vocal returns for this track, adding in a slightly different feeling from the previous track, still continuing the soft approach but this time almost acting as an answer to Photographic Memory, almost as if it’s two sides competing for acknowledgement. Palm Reader sees a return to the more urgent style of track which, after the previous two tracks, comes as somewhat of a shock. Adding more elements into the mix once again to create a track which is not only melodic but also powerful and deep, this is another track which stands out purely for the contrasting effect it has on the album. The highlight for me though has to be the lead snippets which jump around every now and then from the guitar, it adds a sense of classic rock to things and turns this into a track which you have to hear to fully appreciate. Dangerous Dreams continues the guitar based approach and once again demonstrates why this is a band you need to hear. More urgent once again, the speed and power of this track seems to once again raise the bar, adding in a sense of distortion to fully accentuate the power of this track as a whole.
Closing with Miles To Go there’s one last chance to witness the power of clever songwriting, this time adding some strings into the mix to create a classical feel from the off, something which few bands are willing to attempt. The effect is quite stunning though as you end up simply listening, stopping what ever you’re doing and focusing 100% on the music. Adding in the guitar and vocal further develops the track and the end result is a closing track which will leave you wanting more and trying to work out how they’re going to better this album as a whole.
Permanent Déjà Vu are one of those bands which on paper, I don’t think I’m going to get on overly well with, but then hear and get blown away by. The song writing on this track is second to none, each track presenting you with a different take on the band and almost telling a story as it progresses. There are moments which are emotional, moments which are urgent and moments which are calm, but throughout the common denominator is the bands ability to keep the listener engaged and wanting to hear more. I think this is a band we’re going to be hearing much much more from!
To find out more about Permanent Déjà Vu, check out their Facebook page HERE.
Words: Dave Nicholls