In contrast to his mixtape released earlier online this year, Darwin Deez’s self-titled album, Darwin Deez, is a much less crude and crass than Wonky Beats. Released on April 12th in the United Kingdom, the album received a vast amount of attention and peaked at the 61st position on top selling albums. On April 25th Deez released his hit single “Radar Detector,” after that followed a slew of other excellent singles, most of which would later appear on the self-titled album. The only single that did not make it onto the album was probably the weakest of all he singles, “The Coma Song.”
Musically, the album is incredibly catchy, fun, upbeat and witty, with tracks like “Constellations” and “Up In the Clouds” singing about cutesy stuff including lines like “if freckles don’t mean anything/does anything mean anything?” and “dizzy from lack of oxygen?/or from the mood you put me in?” However on the whole, the album is more surreal and almost depressing lyrically. “DNA” bemoans a break-up and blames chromosomes on the failure of such. In “The Suicide Song,” one of the more upbeat songs on the album, Deez paints a picture of another depressed break-up victim throwing himself off an office building validating the suicide by singing, “ ’cause i don’t need a reason why. Does anyone? Does anyone?”
In undoubtedly the wittiest song on the album, “The Bomb Song” Deez creates a song which seems loosely centered around the cliché, “what if I were the only boy left on the earth?” singing of a post-apocalyptic ghost town, “Say you love me now/Maybe you will say you love me now/Say you love me/Please… say it now/That the sky is green.” The closing song is an angst ridden song against someone who can only be assumed as another competitor for the girl of his dreams. I say almost because although Deez lyrically wishes numerous bad situations on the other suitor, he also repeatedly apologizes to him in a falsetto right after wishing him a bad day, leaving the listener somewhat confused as to Deez’s true wish for the other suitor.
With his uniquely twanging guitar, witty lyrics, and catchy choruses, Darwin Deez is an artist to look out for in the coming days. There is no doubt he’ll give us a fun ride. Whether he raps with other childhood movie samples, continues to blend glum situations with up-beat songs, Deez will no doubt hold a unique grip on the indie music scene.
