“I don’t know what love is…” Despite the humble admission that opens the self-titled September 6 new release from Deas Vail, the album sizes up the emotion with some beautifully poetic and eloquent metaphors. Over the course of twelve songs, love takes the shape of a fiery dragon, a closed doorway, a distant tower and an unpredictable ghost, this follow up to the band’s 2009 release “Birds & Cages.
Deas Vail is: Wes Blaylock – Vocals, Keys, Laura Blaylock – Keys, Synth, Wes Saunders – Drums, Andy Moore- Guitar and Justin Froning – Bass.
Helping the band on this album is first-time producer, Relient K guitarist and Mono Vs Stereo A&R Matthew Hoopes, who captures a live spirit and immediacy throughout. Blaylock says, “All of our records sound very studio, so we kind of wanted to do something that sounded a little grittier and more stripped down. What you’re going to hear is what you’ll hear on stage. As for Matt, he’s a longtime friend, and he was working with us in pre-production, and at a certain point, we said, ‘You know what, Matt? You get this music more than anybody else. You understand exactly what we want to do and you have some pretty amazing tools to get it done. We really took our time and had a blast making this record.”
See the lyric video for the first single ‘ Sixteen’ here: www.deasvail.com
When Deas Vail formed in 2003, Blaylock says the goal was to back his own acoustic singer-songwriter project, with no bigger picture in mind than friends having fun. “We didn’t think we’d be doing it professionally years later,” he says. But three albums, two EPs and a few member changes later, the band has matured into a formidably tight unit. “The rapport and chemistry has gotten deeper,” he says. “We’ve gotten braver, and we felt like on this album, we weren’t in any boxes and we could just do whatever we wanted. Be experimental and try different ideas, move forward and do new things. We’re still growing, still writing better songs.”
Deas Vail joins forces with label-mates Farewell Flight to release a split EP available digitally on June 7 from Mono vs Stereo. The band will also play the 10th annual Bonaroo Music & Arts Festival on June 10 in Manchester, TN on the same day as The Decemberists, My Morning Jacket, Grace Potter & the Nocturnals, and Arcade Fire.
EP tracks:
1. Deas Vail – Sixteen
2. Farewell Flight – Out for Blood
3. Deas Vail – Gone (exclusive)
4. Farewell Flight – Ten Steps In (exclusive)
Mono vs. Stereo, is a partnership between Gotee Records and Relient K.
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