Bands are always looking for their own sound, something that feels as if they are breaking new ground or at least finding untrodden parallel pathways through the existing musical landscape. Delta of Venus found an interesting and brave way of forcing themselves along new musical lines by forming a band in which everyone picked up an instrument that they couldn’t already play.
So, with a drummer and long-lapsed guitarist handling six-string duties, and a former vocalist on bass, they were forced to create sounds through adventure and experimentation rather than experience and formal training.
Years later, after a long hiatus and various musical tangents, this brace of songs, delivered in the format of the old-school single with a definite A and B-side, is the first material from the reformed band. And what a great couple of tunes they are, especially as they seem to swearve conventional structures such as choruses and solos.
“Disengaged” is the sound of sweet, nineties indie being reimagined for a new audience—shimmering sonics dance over groove-inducing bass and busy beats. The result is the perfect collision point between jangle pop and a slightly shoegaze-infused indie, the sort of place that was home to bands such as The Darling Buds and The Primitives back in the day.
“Slipping” is a slightly more mercurial affair. It displays the same pop/indie marriage as its erstwhile A-side but is seemingly slightly darker, more frantic, and errs more toward a less obvious post-punk vibe.
I love it when a band takes those things I love and grew up on, in this case accessible, indie music and clever pop, and reinvents it for a new era. It’s how the music scene moves on. And that is precisely what Delta of Venus is doing here. It’s nice to have them back.
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