You Dropped the A-Bomb

death vessel - Deep in the Horchada.

So, I have to admit something. I was totally thrown at first, thinking that the person singing this song was a woman. I was wrong! Dead wrong! It's actually the principal member of the band, who happens to be a man. I was actually kind of conservatively hardnosed in my belief that this was a woman, almost refusing to believe that it could be a man. Surprise!

Anyway, the physical logistics of being deep in horchada aside, I'm a fan of this song. I like the creepy, lagging melody, the varied instrumentation, and the way that it somehow feels modern and avoids sounding like just another obrotherwhereartthou rehash. It's something else entirely.

Death Vessel is actually just one guy (Joel Thibodeau) and sometimes one other (Erik Carlson) and at least a dozen other regulars and guests. So the whole "band" aspect can be relatively amorphous, but live it's usually Joel solo, or with two other guys. On the album, there are dozens of guests, but the spirit of Death Vessel never wavers.

Now, does the meaning of the song change for me now that I know it's a man? Not really.

There's something ruthlessly indie about this band. It's the type of band that a few people will absolutely love to streaming tears and others won't really know about because the band can't afford promotion. I, for one, enjoy the band. I bet they put on a great live show too. It's fun times. At any rate, you can pick up the album for a good price. Recommended.

Oh, and speaking of their live show, they'll be playing in NYC soon. On Saturday, November 19th at Mo Pitkins. This will be part of a party thrown by Fanatic Promotion and Fringe Benefits. Death Vessel go on at 4:45 p.m. (it's an early show). They'll be joined by Miguel mendez, devin davis, and langhorne slim (at 4, 5:30, and 6:15 p.m. respectively). Free red stripe til it runs out. If you can't make that show, they're also playing at the mercury lounge on 11/22.