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by Keavin Wiggins
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“Two Angels and a Dream” is an appropriate titled for Depswa’s debut album. On one hand they follow the major angel of modern rock and to a lesser extent they follow the angel of nu metal. Although, you shouldn’t classify Depswa in the nu metal camp because they only add in flavors of that genre at opportune moments. Most of the time they stick to being a modern rock band, which is a great thing because that is where they excel.  

The magic comes with the interplay between styles. That is no more evident than with the lead off single “This Time,” a song that is mellow enough for mainstream radio but heavy enough for harder formats. All driven by a compelling chorus, cool harmonies, engaging drum fills, orchestrated guitars that all come together to form a really solid song that from other bands might not work but comes off with a bit of an experimental feel from Depswa. And that’s why they are different. They haven’t reinvented the wheel but instead give it a different spin and the result is a fresh sound with a strong rhythmic sense coupled with a penchant for melodious flourish. It’s a powerful weapon in the battle to win over the ears of listeners and for the most part it works for this band. 

That is just what the band plans to do this summer on the Ozzfest. Again, this isn’t your typical Ozzfest band, so it will be interesting to see the reaction they get. Chances are good that they will have no problem winning converts as they transverse the country, offering Ozzfestians something different and that difference will make them stand out on that crowded 2nd stage. 

You may also have the chance to see the band in a totally different context even before they hit the Ozzfest. I was on hand the other night at the Whiskey in Hollywood to watch Depswa kick off a short “pre-Ozzfest” unplugged tour.  Playing unplugged is really a testing ground for most artists. Some can pull it off and some can’t. If your song structure is too limited and derives all of it’s power from big powerchords then you are in trouble when you try to take things down to an acoustic level because the songs come off as hollow. Fortunately, there is a lot more to Depswa than powerchords and their songs adapt well to an acoustic setting and take on a whole new personality. The melodies are there to back them up and if anything seeing this band unplugged will only make you appreciate their music more. 

The group’s label, Geffen, has had a few false starts over the past couple years but this time they hit a home run with Depswa. Given the history of that label, it’s great to see that they once again have brought forth a band that raises the bar for popular rock music. Depswa gets a confident endorsement from this jaded rock scribe and trust me lately those are hard to come by.  Depswa’s debut is a great way to kick off the summer for music and if you get the chance to see them on either their unplugged tour or later on Ozzfest you definitely should take it. 

Before you run out and pick up “Two Angels and a Dream,” here is a chance to get to know a little more about the band. A few months back we ran an interview in the “First Look” series on our sister site Rocknworld.com. I spoke with Depswa frontman Jeremy Penick and he gave us the lowdown on the new album but also the history of the group and what they try and bring to the table. Having conducted the interview myself before hearing the album, it gave me a bit more insight into the CD once I heard it. So if you missed the interview the first time around here is your second chance. 
 

RNW: Since this will be the first exposure most of our readers will have to Depswa, I’d like to do some background questions. First: How would you describe your music to someone who hasn’t heard it yet? 

Jeremy: I would say it’s definitely heavy in melody and emotion. It goes from extreme to extreme. Extremely soft in some parts to extremely heavy. Really no boundaries. Mostly, songs I hope that leave you thinking. 

RNW: Is there any general overall themes to your songs? A certain message or subject matter?

Jeremy: Each song is different. Each song comes from a different time a different place. To me each song has it’s own vibe and character. 

RNW: You’ve guys have done a number of EP’s over the years, did any of those songs end up on the album?

Jeremy: Yeah, like some of the demos and stuff we did. We did all of the demos ourselves or our friend with help us with them and all those, well some of those old songs are on the record but there are still a lot of them didn’t make it too. 

RNW: Any plans to reissue the EP’s down the line for your new fans?

Jeremy: The demos? I don’t know about the demos. I’d really like to record them for real, do a real good job on them. Most of the demos, we’d do in like a day or two and just crank it out. You know the sound quality and everything, it was all right but it wasn’t everything that it could be. 

RNW: Do you guys have a release date for the album yet?

Jeremy: You know what, it’s no later than May, is what they’re saying. We had February 24th but they pushed it back and said “no, it won’t be no later than May”. I think April is when the single comes out. Within the next couple of months I would say.

RNW: Do you have any personal favorite tracks from the album?

Jeremy: I don’t know, I like em all! 

RNW: You recorded your debut with producer Howard Benson. How was it working with him? 

Jeremy: It was great! I think we all actually learned immensely. I’m also interested myself in recording and stuff, I have my own little studio and I learned just a great deal about how they really record an album. And you know, just listening to different peoples opinions and perspectives on music was really enlightening and got to see the inside of the way things… I always wondered how they were done and it was really cool for all of us to go through that experience. We definitely grew. 

RNW: Where did the title “Two Angels and A Dream” come from?

Jeremy: One of the songs is called “Two Angels and A Dream”. The song is kind of a metaphor between like wrong and right or heaven and hell, whatever. The chorus goes, “..and I caught between two angels and a dream. One is pulling at my heart, the other ripps the seams.” It’s sort of a metaphor between wrong and right sort of tugging at you at the same time and trying to figure out which way to go or if you’re gonna stay in the middle somehow. 

RNW: I know you get this question in every interview, where the name came from?

Jeremy: Yeah, initially we were a band called Carcinogen years ago and we had a demo and we named it Depswa and we got that name, for the demo, because we were a little more tribal sounding, had a lot more drums, we did like drum solos and where it came from actually was one of us watched “Medicine Man” and saw in there, in the movie “Medicine Man” Sean Connery is in a Venezuelan rainforest and he’s looking for the cure for cancer, he’s studying this and in the Venezuelan rainforest there is a tribe that he is working with and the medicine man or the healer they called the “Depswa”. 

RNW: So the name just sort of fit with what you guys were into. 

Jeremy: Yeah, we wanted a name that had no stigma. Which was kind of cool. We were just like, you know, when it came time to change the name our music was changing so we were like “I think it’s time to change our name” because Carcinogen has such a stigma, like a death metal band, smoke whatever, you get all these images in your mind but Depswa nobody knows what the hell it is.  It’s either the word you never heard before or you’ve heard of the band obviously. 

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