The Deadly Syndrome The Ortolan WB rating out of 100

Way back when the other kids were hanging out behind the school shed smoking, Mike Hughes, The Deadly Syndrome’s keyboardist and drummer, was at home belting the ivories. Nowadays, his fingers are the frantic force behind The Deadly Syndrome, California’s latest indie quartet, the alluring wail of Chris Richards combined with Hughes’ keys work giving birth to TDS’s catchy debut album, The Ortolan.

Put simply, The Ortolan is a good, solid album of catchy indie rock with a touch of folk on the side. The beat is constant and unfaultering, the lyrics are minimalist and honest in the true sense of the word. And they’re sung in a pitch that sounds like it should be too whiney for Lois Griffin. It’s not. It’s in tune and, much like sucking on a sour grape warhead, your taste for Richards' voice becomes a craving.  The atttrative thing about the whole project, as you may have guessed is the use of the piano in a few of the tracks to act as a keel, to steady the underlying beat.

Aural senses are instantly slapped awake by the bells used in opening track ‘Eucalyptus’. Richards’ sun-drenched vocals are used equally as effectively to instil the sense of summer freedom in ‘Heart’ and ‘Friends Who Don’t go out at Night’ with their light, crisp tone. ‘I Hope I Become a Ghost’ is a stand out with an infectious keyboard line, tight lyrics and a live rendition that matches the energy of Faker’s Nathan Hudson. ‘Animals Wearing Clothes’ adds credibility, with albeit bleak but poignant lyrics illustrated through “This was poorly wrote. It's a shipwreck note for note despite its many flaws it has you smitten.”

The closing track ‘This Old Home’ is fascinatingly epic, a three minute instrumental wrapping up the record nicely. If any criticism can be drawn from Ortolan it would fall with Richards' vocals. Whilst firm, they are at times overextended and to a degree plateau at the back end of the record. This is but a small blemish on a better than average release.

The Ortolan has legs and its charm needs to be put into the perspective of a debut. The songwriting is sharp, the instrumentation excellent and although the last few tracks peter out, for a debut it has considerable merit.