Genre/Influences: Post-Punk, Cold-Wave.

Format: Digital, Vinyl.

Background/Info: This album is a split release between two bands; Dear Deer from France and Embers from Belgium. They each released four songs for this work. 

Content: Dear Deer moves on composing their Post-Punk inspired music. The opening touch has a little Funky touch on top, but globally speaking the songs smell like good-old 80s Post-Punk and Cold-Wave productions. Deep bass lines and guitar playing to empower the choruses while the vocals are mixing male- and female vocals. You’ll also notice some electronic arrangements on top.

Embers is a duo I didn’t know and which have already released a few EP’s some years ago now. The main characteristic emerges from the vocals, which have been sung in a kind of local Dutch dialect. Sound-wise the songs are mixing bombastic atmospheres together Post-Punk, but still a kind of Flamenco-guitar on “Bic”.

+ + + : The album reveals two interesting bands; Dear Deer confirms its strong potential composing well-crafted Post-Punk. It sounds pretty retro-like and yet it sounds refreshing. The last song “Life In Rewind” is the apotheosis to this work. The main strength of Embers definitely appears to be their original concept of singing in dialect, which creates a somewhat exotic touch. It’s fun, which is also noticeable in the composition and especially at “Bic” featuring a kind of Flamenco guitar playing. 

– – – : The last song of Embers is poorly inspired and a rather disappointing final. I personally would have preferred to discover each band releasing a separate album instead of a split-album.

Conclusion: Great Post-Punk from France and funny Flemish music from Belgium.

Best songs: Dear Deer: “Life In Rewind”, “Jjr” + Embers: “Bic”.

Rate: (7).

Artists: www.facebook.com/embersburn / www.facebook.com/deardeerfr

Label: www.wool-e-discs.be / www.facebook.com/woolediscs

About Embers & Dear Deer

Dear Deer is a duo from Lille, France, with members previously active in other electro-goth, batcave and post-punk bands. Embers is a Belgian duo from the West-Flemish region around Ostend, formed from the remnants of the industrial-goth band Pia Fraus, and known for singing in West-Flemish dialect. The two acts shared this limited-edition split release on Wool-E Discs, issued on 12-inch vinyl on January 29, 2021, four tracks each.

Inferno Sound Diaries

I have been working for over 30 years with Side-line as the main reviewer. My taste is eclectic, uncoventional and I prefer to look for the pearls, even if the bands are completely unknown, thus staying loyal to the Side-Line philosophy of nurturing new talents.

www.side-line.com