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Live Forever, The Deaf Ears debut album, is proof positive that sometimes when things fall apart, things can actually come together. Case in point, when Joel Mullins’ previous band Tammany Hall Machine – a band that garnered a decent amount of Austin buzz and a slew of nice slots with some great bands – began to disintegrate, Joel decided not to force his new batch of songs into the old format. Instead, he regrouped with producer Scott Oliphant on drums and decided to form a two-piece. Sure enough, with the addition of former THM bandmates Mick Southerland and Geoff Dupree, that two-piece morphed into The Deaf Ears quartet and a whole new way to create Mullins’ vision was realized.
On Live Forever, The Deaf Ears trot out ten catchy tunes that teeter between polished pop and careened bar band rock. Recorded live without overdubs, the band forgoes the normal spit polish and digital sheen that other similar bands have attempted and instead let’s the rough edges cut just a bit. “Amateur Saw,” the album’s opener, puts this production decision on full display; the longest track on the album (clocking in at just under four and a half minutes) features Mullins’ lush organ, a stomping rhythm section, and some handclaps that, when put together, feel like the band is about to become unhinged at any moment for almost the entire track… and then it actually happens. The song starts to wind down, things get a little slower, and then all of a sudden the band stretches out in a rambling outro, that while likely well planned and rehearsed, sounds like four guys goofing around and having a great time. For better or worse (mostly for better), this pattern repeats itself throughout the course of the remaining nine tracks.
Across the album, Mullins soulful voice and keys are the focal point. Dupree’s guitar flourishes are subtle accents, never threatening to overpower the rolling rhythms pounded out by Mullins, Oliphant, and Southerland. On “All in the Family,” the band takes a slower turn over dark chords and Mullins’ mournful tale of how he “took our poison/with gin and vermouth.” With a partial croon and a subdued arrangement featuring the rest of the guys singing off in the background, the tune sounds like it was poured out of a whiskey bottle and straight into a dive bar jukebox. And while this tale of woe might be one of the highlights of the album, The Deaf Ears aren’t hocking Debbie-downer vibes here; the rollicking “You Tell Tara” begins with a boogie, ends with hooting and hollering, and cascades into the hip shaking “Make This Hole.”
Maybe the album’s title Live Forever is a look to the future. As in, The Deaf Ears will live forever and keep taking advantage Joel Mullins’ incredible knack of writing hooks. Or, maybe it’s as simple as they’ll always record live without overdubs. Whatever it means, The Deaf Ears will hopefully avoid the fate of Tammany Hall Machine while creating more of these sinewy organ driven rockers. With a little luck, The Deaf Ears’ music won’t fall on many deaf ears any time soon.
Websites:
www.thedeafears.com
Myspace
