Belgian folk-grungers dEUS have returned, five years after their last acclaimed album The Ideal Crash. A cursory listen to Pocket Revolution’s opening track, ‘Bad Timing’ confirms that they are not about to alter their gameplan, and remain dedicated to slowly filling their melancholy-tinged pop songs with extra sheets of guitar noise.
Those expecting something a little more challenging will be disappointed, but in truth, dEUS’ reputation as oddball experimentalists has always been misplaced. The group have excelled at making art-rock sound as cosy and unthreatening as possible, and Pocket Revolution is no different: this is AOR given a light avant-garde frosting, easy listening bent curiously out-of-shape.
dEUS have been ploughing this furrow for over a decade now, and they’ve been doing it for a reason – they are exceptionally good at it. Pocket Revolution is a work of combined musical intelligence, a culmination of years spent playing to their strengths.
Comeback single ‘7 Days, 7 Weeks’ is balmy and plainly gorgeous, a laid-back summer organ melt, simultaneously richly-textured and easy-on-the-ear. ‘What We Talk About (When We Talk About Love)’ incorporates some honeyed soul vocals into the group’s likeable, jerky avant-pop, while closer ‘Nothing Really Ends’ is pure, blissful lounge music – the band finally acknowledging that, at heart, they are far from Sonic Youth-style noise terrorists. The highlight is ‘Include Me Out’ – a sweetly queasy lullaby, complete with sampled movie dialogue.
dEUS have achieved a similar feat to Pavement circa Brighten The Corners or late-period Yo La Tengo: skilfully incorporating light experimental flourishes into their relaxed, middle-aged pop. An undemanding, yet thoroughly enjoyable return.