Borne on a sound embracing everything from alternative rock to soulful pop honed into something individual, Imposter Syndrome is the new EP from DMS, a release revelling in all the aspects which has drawn keen attention and praise the way of the Scottish outfit.
Formed in Edinburgh in 2015 by vocalist John Keenan, guitarist/vocalist Mikey Robertson, and drummer Callum Saint, DMS (Deaf Mute Society) has consistently picked up new fans and plaudits. With its line-up completed by bassist Euan Mushet and keyboardist Jen Bain, the band closes a successful year on the live front, playing a host of festivals such as March Into Pitlochry, Oban Live, Kelburn Garden Party, and Party At The Palace, with the release of Imposter Syndrome. Providing four tracks as eclectic in their presence as they are united in their enterprise, the EP has already sparked keen attention through its first single, Howl.
It is Tight Jeans which opens up the EP, its instantly infectious presence shaped by the dark breath of bass and the flirtatious shuffle of keys and guitar. In its midst as Saint’s beats egg on the song’s controlled but eager boisterousness, Keenan’s vocals swing adding further catchiness to the track’s stroll. Across its thick contagion, a host of flavours unite; classic rock wires escaping the guitar as electro pop instincts line its earthy rock ‘n’ roll.
It is a great start to the release which is matched in creative kind by Dirt. Springing a tapestry of funk, pop, and dance-floor nurtured endeavour around its rock instincts, the song canters through ears with its own infectious agility and charm. As with its predecessor, there is at times certainly something familiar to its escapade but equally it is only freshly imaginative to DMS, a description which again applies to the outstanding Howl. Easily our favourite moment within Imposter Syndrome, the track effortlessly got under the skin with the Visage-esque air to its keys and the unapologetically contagiousness of its rock ‘n’ roll where classic rock hues are as eager as poppier strains of sound.
Vain brings the release to its conclusion, the track rising on the progressive intimation of keys to swing through ears as Keenan explores the more rap like side to his ever engaging delivery. Richer synth pop and alt rock invention unite as the track continues another inescapably inviting stroll, enterprise and craft at the heart of its temptation.
Imposter Syndrome is a potent and memorable proper introduction to DMs, a release which just gets more compelling by the listen and one sure to lure greater focus upon the band’s rise up the UK rock scene.
Imposter Syndrome is released November 29th.
https://deafmutesociety.com/ https://www.facebook.com/dmsscotland/ https://twitter.com/dmstweetz https://dmsscotland.bandcamp.com/
Pete RingMaster 28/11/2019
Copyright RingMasterReview: MyFreeCopyright
The album opens up with Open Your Arms, a track which swiftly hooks ears with its sweeping breath and magnetic jangle. Metcalfe’s vocals resonate with the expression and character which we are more familiar with within his current creative adventure as melodies, harmonies, and sharp hooks are woven into a slice of indie contagion. There is a Big Country like grandeur to the song at times and a gnarly edge to the bass which just hit a personal appetite, again something since keenly devoured with Wilson’s presence in The Filthy Tongues.
The Killers has been suggested as a reference to the band’s music but straight away as What For? strolls through ears and especially as it settles into its eager almost teasing temptation an Inspiral Carpets like hue rises to the fore. Even so it is simply a single flavouring in the band’s indie rock audacity as the guitar and vocals of John Hewitson swing across the rhythmic enticement of bassist Craig Morrison and drummer Robert Lang. There is a great grumble to that bass which earths the loftier melodic threads which spring from the guitar while Lang’s beats just enjoyably nag throughout.
The sing-a-long canter of Ma Claque just commands participation next up while Je Suis Le Boss owns ears with its sepia shaded sixties shuffle blessed with the intoxicating jangle of keys and the harmonic flaming of Monbel; another great pair which is still outshone by another as Drogue ‘N’ Roll swaggers in with unapologetically flirtatious grooves leading devilish power pop tainted moves and garage pop sprung temptation.
It is a success soon shared across Fleam starting with the pair of Lovebombing and Dig. The first comes equipped with danger and threat as well as another dose of pure musical contagion that infests ears and instincts. Nurtured in punk ‘n’ roll ferocity and armed with a lyrical prowess which grips as effortlessly as the feral sounds surrounding it, the track simply enslaved before the second of the two sauntered in and exploded in a flame of melodic discord and eccentric invention. With a breath akin to The Nightingales in league with Television Personalities to it, the track burrowed under the skin laying bait and temptation which for just over two minutes feasted on any possible resistance to its esurient endeavour.
Across the pop ‘n’ roll of The Ad Hominem and the pop fray of Overton Window, band and album just accentuate their rich enticements, the first of the pair especially persuasive while Cognitive Dissonance eclipses both with its punk coated misbehaviour again hinting at the seventies and the antics of bands like O‘Level and Teenage Filmstars.