Hardly Art
Here’s part of what bugs me about indie rock in 2012: bands are either so caught up in their own revivalist/futurist/etc. relevance and/or marketing bullshit that they often forget to write distinctive songs. Or hell even how to write songs without being moronically heavy or so fey and featherweight so as to be nothing but snore inducing. It’s with much delight that I can tell you that the self-titled debut from Deep Time — the Austin Texas-based duo of multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Moore and drummer Adam Jones — does away with all of that in a wonderfully pleasant half hour of spacious stripped-down pop tunes. (Sometimes less is more.)
Deep Time reminds me of many other bands but they’re all A-list references in my book: Moore’s voice sometimes reminds me of Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier; instrumentally I’m occasionally reminded of the sorely under-known Life Without Buildings and elements of early-’00s D.C. indie rock (especially Quix*O*Tic and maybe even slight hints of say Different Damage -era Q & Not U) are quite apparent. Throw a pinch of The Slits and Kleenex/LiLiPUT in there too (“Horse”) — but these are all just ballpark suggestions; it’s not like Deep Time are ripping anyone off. This is a familiar sounding record for a number of reasons but the level of execution demonstrates substantive poise: the songs are memorable and I actually want to hear them more than once. Throw Deep Time in the “good summer evening jams” pile.
