Dayton alt-rock, three-piece band, The Dead Licks, have definitely hit the ground running with their debut release, a self-titled EP. The band formed a year and a half ago at the University of Dayton after a common email blunder, accidentally hitting the dreaded "reply all" button. For most people, this mistake ends in unintended embarrassment, but for these three guys, it resulted in the formation of a rock band.
The band's lead guitarist, Jack Grbac, sent an email to the head of Street Sounds Recording Studio, (their university's recording studio, by the way. Why doesn't every college have a recording studio?!?) about wanting to start a band, but he accidentally sent it everybody on the email list. Coincidentally, only one person replied to that accidental email: Tom Inzinga, the band's future frontman. The band then added drummer Jimmy Gallagher to the group and it seems that the rest is history.
So what do these guys sound like? The band cites many bands from different decades as shared influences. They cite legendary American rock bands like Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters, The White Stripes and The Strokes as influences, while also taking inspiration from across the pond with British bands like Oasis, The Rolling Stones, Radiohead and Led Zeppelin. Fine by me! Let's delve into their new EP, shall we?
The band's self-titled EP is just three tracks long, but it packs quite the punch. The lead track, "Memory Lane," opens with some slow, bluesy guitar and then utilizes a couple of great spoken word samples about rock and roll over the top of it. I didn't recognize the first sample. It sounds like a poorly-educated man talking about the importance of rock stars and then, mid-sample, the bass guitar and hi-hat come in. The second sample, however, is easily recognizable and it's actually a famous quote from rock and roll history. It's a recording of Keith Richards talking about his deceased bandmate, Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones, and Jones' crazy rock and roll lifestyle. Richards says, "You just have that feeling they’re not gonna be 70 years old ever, you know, not everybody makes it." It's really a great indication that the band haven't forgotten the roots of rock and roll, something that definitely can't be said of many bands nowadays.
Anyway, back to the song. As the song progresses, it speeds up and the raw, lead vocals take center stage. It becomes increasingly evident that lead singer, Tom Inzinga, is a force to be reckoned with. In the chorus, he spits out the lyrics, "Say it again / how this is the end" and it's easily one of the strongest, most memorable moments on the EP.
The second song, "Worries Down The Road," clocks in at just about two and a half minutes and it shows a more emotional, personal side of the band. It opens with a nice acoustic guitar riff and simple, heartfelt lyrics. Inzinga sings about the negative thoughts haunting his mind with lines like "demons in my head / they're the fuel behind my pen." Assuming that this song's lyrics are autobiographical, the band seems to view writing and playing music as an escape from their own dark, spiraling thoughts.
The song's lyrics release inner, pent-up emotions and as the song unfolds, these string-like sounds come in (although they're probably from an electronic keyboard, but still sound great nonetheless) and complement the song perfectly. In fact, the addition of the strings really adds depth to the song and those strings immediately remind me of Noel Gallagher's debut solo record. If that comparison's not high praise, I don't know what is!
The final track of the EP is a five minute song called "Hey Lady." For the first few minutes, the chilled-out track struggles to connect (though the vocals are strong), but when Tom's guitar solo comes around, it's a total wake-up call. Let me just put it this way: The guy can shred. Next to the vocals in the chorus on "Memory Lane," I'd say that for the listener, this song's guitar solo is probably the EP's single greatest pinch yourself moment. The EP totally ends with a tension-filled bang and that's a good thing in my book because I often find myself disappointed when a band ends an album on a slower, softer note.
Overall, this EP shows huge potential for the band and not just for a band that formed less than two years ago, but for any band. The Dead Licks' strengths heavily outweigh their weaknesses and I challenge anyone to listen to the EP and not find themselves with at least one tune stuck in their head for days (mine is "Memory Lane" for the time being). You can listen to the band's EP in full here, where you can buy yourself a digital copy as well. To receive more updates from the band, you can follow them on Twitter here.
