DeVere returned with their third offering Dead Before I Die via all streaming services on February 2, 2024, but since this is my first listen to the band let’s start from scratch.
Starting with deliberate notes, DeVere create a sonic atmosphere of desolation from the outset, a haunting tone lingering in the breeze before the tempered vocals ease in gently, adding to the suspense.
Things slow down a touch as a casual groove settles over the landscape, growing more ominous in nature as the pace quickens a touch before drawing back into itself into a more deliberate pattern once more.
This is fairly easy listening stuff, but so far has failed to get out of second gear until an echoed guitar solo after the two-minute mark introduces more urgency to the track, but this is unfortunately short-lived as the sombre tone returns to haunt us.
A couple of mini breakdowns on guitar and drums offer glimpses of danger without fully threatening, and then the track draws to a subdued conclusion having really gone nowhere.
But with a title like Dead Before I Die, what was I realistically expecting?
