dEUS Reunites, Visits North America
There have been a lot of band reunions in the past few years, some big (Pixies, Gang of Four, Rocket from the Tombs, Rezillos, Wire, Buzzcocks, Pylon) and others overlooked (did you know that the Fire Engines and 100 Flowers reunited and made new records in 2004? Or that the Slits will release a new record this year?) I myself was especially happy that the Belgian band dEUS got back together after a ten year hiatus and made a new record. Only two members remain from the original lineup, and dEUS is now essentially Tom Barman & Co., in the same way that the Fall is Mark E. Smith plus his current wife and sidemen. Pocket Revolution isn’t my favorite dEUS album, but it is excellent. It hasn’t been released by V2 in the US, but you can get it on iTunes, or be a geek like me and buy the import. The other great news for dEUS fans on this side of the Atlantic is that they are coming to SXSW in March, and will play some other shows in the US and Canada while they’re here.I have loved dEUS since I first heard “Suds and Soda” on college radio. When the file sharing revolution started, I discovered dozens of dEUS b-sides and covers. They started as a Violent Femmes cover band, and they have great taste in covers: Alejandro Escovedo, Palace Brothers, GBV, Sebadoh, Pixies, Leonard Cohen, Big Star, Marc Ribot... There are a few stray tracks I don’t have yet, and I’d love to hear from other fans. “Overflow” is a sad and delicate dEUS original that I want played at my funeral.
dEUS: Overflow
dEUS: Suds and Soda (live 2004)
3 Comments:
My favorite dEUS moment is the completely unhinged video for "Theme from Turnpike" (which is a fantastic song).
I'd love to know more about the Slits project that will see release this year. I think (but I'm not 100% sure) that the new band is made up of Viv and Tessa's kids! Or something like that. I know Ari's son joins her onstage sometimes.
As the Slits are one of my favorite bands, I'm a little bit leery at the thought of anyone trying to re-create what they had. On the other hand, their music hasn't dated AT ALL so I suppose the time is right.
I don't know anything about the new Slits music other than that it was mentioned in Mojo that they were recording. I agree completely that their music is still fresh and challenging. And I like dEUS best when they get unhinged, especially on the first album.
Thanks for visiting! Andrea's blog, which is really more of a magazine, is well worth visiting (Warped Reality, at the top of my blog links list). It is a great looking site with top notch writing about great bands like Prolapse, Th Faith Healers, and Vic Chesnutt.
Hey, check out my Pocket Revolution reveiw at my own blog:
www.grand-epic.blogspot.com
I'll be seeing dEUS in San Francisco on the March 20th.
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