On their second LP, You Will Never Be Younger Than You Are Now, local quartet Dancing Heals have undertaken somewhat of a rebirth, stepping up from a quality local band to become an act worthy of representing Australia at an international level.
Opening track Raise The Dead opens with an enthralling strum then builds over the next sixty seconds with the introduction of drums, bass and a second guitar. The fully constructed melody of this song would be at home in the opening salvo of Dandy Warhols indie classic Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia. Vocalist Jon-Lee Farrell’s singing style for this track is retrained even when he pushes the chorus – this purposeful limitation suits the song’s musical flow perfectly.
The album’s cover art is the band’s four members – Farrell, Daniel Trakell (guitar, vocals), Jarrod Long (drums) and James Lovie (bass) – semi submerged in a grey calm ocean. This image works perfectly with the albums sonic aesthetic that represents the band’s expansive sound but also the sense of ‘rebirth’ imbued in every sense of this record.
The metamorphosis the band undertook in order to produce this superior release was helped by a trip to Echo Mountain Studios in Asheville, North Carolina – a studio that was used by Band Of Horses to record their first two albums. Ironically, on this record Dancing Heals sound less like Band Of Horses then they did on their previous album to this, their debut, Into The Night.
A song that best captures this brave new world for Dancing Heals is the song Something. In a decidedly 1980s inspired twist, this track has icy guitars and skittering drums and almost dream pop vocals and romantic lyrics.
Who knows where this record will take Dancing Heals because it has been fantastically executed but also possesses a hell of a lot of heart.
BY DENVER MAXX
Best Track: Raise The Dead
If You Like These, You’ll Love This: Thirteen Tales From Urban Bohemia Dandy Warhols, Cease To Begin Band Of Horses, Furr Blitzen Trapper
In A Word: Enthralling
