Departed – Departed EP
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| Departed - Departed EP |
Release Date: 18th June 2016
Devon rock outfit Departed are
about to unleash a 7 track EP upon an unsuspecting public although I would
argue that at 7 tracks it’s dangerously close to being a mini-album. This
collection opens up with the sub three-minute power-ballad of ‘Are You Ready?’
which is pitched somewhere between mid-career Foo Fighters and a clutch of 80s
hair metal bands doing lunges regardless of which instrument they’re playing
(apart from the drummer, maybe). ‘Dreaming’, on the other hand, opens with a
much more menacing feel and is far more in the vein of Guns’n’Roses, Buckcherry
or Motley Crue with some chunky riffs and powerhouse drums building to a
sing-a-long anthem of a chorus. The slightly creepily titled ‘Pretty Little
Thing’ goes all Bon Jovi on us (I’m thinking ‘Blaze of Glory’) to begin with
before some more choppy, angry guitars beef things up a bit.
Half way through the EP, ‘Don’t
Follow Me’ pops up like an angry teenager and it’s a party tune and a half.
Snarling guitars, a rock’n’roll spirit, growling vocals and the revving engine
of a dirty motorbike all combine to make the kind of song that you would gladly
watch ride off in to the distance as long as it didn’t make direct eye contact
with you. ‘Superstitious’ is a speed-rock tune that doesn’t let up in its
Motorhead meets AC/DC drive and sense of urgency while ‘Steal Your Crown’
straps that Foo Fighters mask on again and busts out the tight riffage and
powerhouse vocal performance. The EP closes with ‘All I Want’ (surely one of
the most popular song titles ever) and it’s four minutes of foot stamping rock’n’roll
that will get venues nice and sweaty as it chugs and thrusts along the dusty
highway. Departed are not breaking any boundaries with this collection of songs
but they are creating a good, old fashioned rock’n’roll racket which is hard to
dislike. Throw in some leather, long hair, skull artwork and an upside down
crucifix as part of the logo and you’ve got yourself a proper rock band. No mistake.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/departedbanduk
Live Dates:
8th July – Apple & Parrot, Torquay
12th August – Livewire, Saltash w/Phil Campbell’s
All Starr Band (Motorhead)
13th August – The Hub, Plymouth w/John Coghlan’s
QUO
26th August – Belinis @ Dartmouth Regatta,
Dartmouth
23rd September – Main Stage @ Looe Music
Festival, Looe
30th September – Bierkeller, Bristol w/Chuck
Mosely of Faith No More
8th October – The Dolls House, Abertillery
11th November – Hard Rock Hell, Pwllheli
26th November – The Globe, Cardiff w/Big Country