Search - Deas Vail :: Birds & Cages

Best album of the year, if not the decade

S. Buck | 12/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a huge fan of Deas Vail since discovering them nearly 2 years ago. The best way to describe them would be this: indie pop-infused rock with soaring and haunting melodies sung by one of the best vocalists in rock. Having seen them three times in concert, I can say that they're far better live than most bands are in the studio with the benefit of editing, autotune, etc.



The new album is, hands down, one of the best albums I've ever bought, let alone in 2009. They've taken their music to a new level. The tunes are full of earworms (tunes you can't out of your head). As one blogger put it, "Deas Vail is one of the few bands who can take pop/rock music and force the listener to apply 'beautiful' to it as an adjective." If that sounds appealing to you, "Birds and Cages" should be the first thing you purchase.



Put it this way: I'm a huge U2 fan, but on every one of their albums, I usually end up skipping past at least half the songs. Not with Deas Vail. Deas Vail has made an album where every single song is something that 99% of other bands can never match.



As for the individual members: Wes Blaylock (the lead singer) is just as jaw-dropping with his soaring vocal pyrotechnics, and his wife Laura (keyboardist) is featured more often in some very lovely vocal duos. Andy Moore (guitar) is constantly pushing the envelope with different sounds and effects. Kelsey Harelson's drumming rarely just keeps a steady beat; instead, he manages, in song after song, to use the offbeats in a way that propels the music forward and gives it a sense of mission and urgency. Finally, Justin Froning's energetic bass playing rounds out the band nicely."

Worth Owning the Physical Copy

LA Camper | 05/24/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have all of the other albums by Deas Vail. They are an excellent and innovative band. Their lyrics and sound are so uplifting and inspiring. Having met several of the band members, I can attest to their great personalities even when not performing. I had downloaded the digital version of the album when it was released, but I felt that the music was so good it was worth owning the hard copy. The artwork on the album packaging and booklet are nice and worth the buy."

Never even heard of these people before.

Blake Wilson | 04/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I played an online game that got me a whopping $6.50 Amazon gift card. So one day, out of random chance, I happened to see this album on sale for $2.00. I thought, "Heck, why not?" and I bought the album. At first I thought the band was just okay. I couldn't really handle the lead singers insanely high voice. I listened to the songs I liked a couple more times, and they stuck in my head day in and day out. The album quickly grew on me and I wasn't bothered by the singers voice anymore. Now it's one of my favorite albums.



Was it worth the $2.00 at the time? Definitely. Is it worth the $5.99 now? Heck yes."