Of the things I’m proudest about of my generation, the invention of grunge would possibly remain their watermark. Loud, angry and confrontational, grunge continued the good work of the punk movement, reminding people of the dangers of writing off kids who don’t fit into traditional social structures and who dare to point out the emperor’s lack of clothes. Ignore the older generations pastiche about grunge being dirty and undignified, what it did was to, rightfully, attack a complacent and complicit system for getting old and accepting the norm.
Whether grunge made any long-term impact onto culture remains to be seen, but with the recent return in the movements ‘look’ and sound, we can assume that it’s inspirational messages lingers on. We can also assume that there’s a need for some new reckless, youthful, behaviour.
Local band ‘Deaf forever’ very much fall into the grunge category. Intentionally raw and sleazy their new, and first, EP ‘So You Say’ looks to call out a few home truths and crawl into the darkness.
Opening track ‘Liar charmers and thieves’ gets us off to a spirited, angry, start. Set within the tale of an ageing street fighting man regretting his life choices, Liar is an emotive story about alienating those around us as we pursue our single visions. Manic’s styled scuzz guitars and vocal howls provide heavy distortion to the track, stressing the regret of the lead character, emphasised by the repetition of the lines ‘if you’d have told me’ at the tracks fade out. It’s a hell of an opening track.
‘Preacher’ moves us into a darker, heavier, environment. Battle broken and weary our lead singer sounds more like die-hard grunge god Scott Wieland in a vocal style that is deliberately slurring and dipped in darkness. Failing to quite reach the highs on the chorus, Preacher’s strengths shine through in its verses and their tales of self-despair and regret.
Final tracks ‘You say’ and ‘All seeing eye’ move us back into top form with scratchy guitars and exploding choruses. Whilst You say is underpinned by a Fugazi-style punk/funk sound, All Seeing Eye attacks us with a Nirvana sounding chugging riff, both styles prove effective and purposeful.
Deaf forever may not yet be our answer to Nirvana or Stone Temple Pilots, but these tracks prove that there is certainly potential. Shining in their darkest and heaviest moments, the Forevers should become a force to be reckoned with. A terrific debut.