Dead Gaze - Dead Gaze

The grungy noise that echoes around this debut from Dead Gaze sounds as if it must’ve been made in a grimy basement studio on the West Coast of the United States. However, R. Cole Furlow makes his music in the more serene and peaceful surroundings of the somewhat less renowned Mississippi. It’s here he adopts his home recording approach, which has now amounted to enough material from which to construct an album.

From the offset it appears that ‘Dead Gaze’ is going to comprise of the deafening volumes of DIY production combined with distorted noise. Not that this would be a problem, as when he does apply this approach it’s invigorating, with ‘Remember What Brought Us Here’ clattering in to life in a euphoric manner. Meanwhile ‘You’ll Carry On Real Nice’ finds Furlow competing against layers of thrashing punk, as he bellows with conviction.

‘Dead Gaze’ is a far more complex listen than it first appears, and is much more rewarding as a result. The glistening synths on ‘Glory Days For Sure’ provide a tender moment with glorious melodies showing Furlow has many strings to his bow - a fact which couldn’t be better exemplified than by this slice of pop perfection. It’s his ability to mesh together his arsenal of varying sounds that make this debut such an accomplished effort.

Album finale ‘Fight Til It’s Dead’ is appropriately the most emotive song of the release, striking a chord with its lingering vulnerability. It’s a most fitting ending: quite rightly, R. Cole Furlow has not let his record get lost among the noise.

Last your saw plaudits lapped up by similar-styled releases from Ty Segall, Japandroids and Cloud Nothings. ‘Dead Gaze’ is an album that deserves just as much attention as these, with its soaring thrills. R. Cole Furlow has managed to piece together a jigsaw of DIY recording methods, thrashy punk, grungy distorted noise and glowing synths to brilliant effect.