Deap Vally: Femejism

A super-toned crunch guitar, lyrics about sex and feministic liberties, and a battering ram of explicit emotions are music whereabouts of the band Deap Vally. The female duo evoke a message of outrage, probably why they have been dubbed the title of “kick ass”. The young band puts out their second full-length album, Femejism. With jesting attitudes they penetrate only a surface level of ideation, lacking creativity and originality.

The girls expressed too few agendas, which makes the album egotistically dull. “Gonnawanna” is the most common thread throughout Femejism. Lyrical formulas like “I’m gonna do what I wanna/I’m gonna do it ‘cuz I wanna” drip from lead singer, Lindsay Troy. The song goes on to plead their case of callous rebellion in the eyes of others. There would be no problem with that, if only they dedicated the songwriting to more pungent and griping themes. The band tries to stick it to the man by pissing off beauty queens and a stranger who tells you to “Smile More”. Low profile songs can only get you so far and this is an example. At some point the audience is going to zone out on you. Nearly all tracks dig into the same method of song writing: power chords and frothing vocals about critical and cynical people.

The next common thread I heard was that of messy, pouring sexual encounters. The two make it abundantly clear that they are feminists. They also make it clear that they are sexually liberal feminists. Pertaining to the latter’s correlation, the band provides “Two Seat Bike” with the enthusiasm of a nymphomaniac. Singing “I’m feeling you, I wanna go down there” inspires eroticism, or boredom. However, this is surprisingly one of the more appealing tracks of the album. Musically, the band did themselves a huge favor by adding a speedy tempo and catchy intro. However, like most tracks on this album it lacks a a good instrumental section. Where the song is supposed to give a genius push because the lyrics are taking a breather, the guitar and drum combination are subtle. In a few transitions, the guitar playing is so sluggish, it sounds like the duo overdoses on melatonin.

After a few outbursts close to the likes of Courtney Love’s punk screeches, Deap Vally finally come to a decent play in “Turn It Off”. I feel like this song has the most depth, creating omens that illuminate in a free fall of musical character. If the band were searching for The White Stripes and The Black Keys, this is as close as they come. Though a predictable formation, the song has convolution that reminds me of Kings of Leon in “On Call”.

At the end of the album I hung my head. The positive things slid underneath the table. The band had been talked up so much the past few years since their debut album Sistrionix. Their low capacity for being multi-dimensional really is a problem.  For a band who aspires to be heavy rockers like their inspiration, Deap Vally falls short with an instrumental and vocal dud.