For many bands across the country, coronavirus lockdowns have meant the main vehicle for spreading their profile was parked in the garage. Thousands of bands had to face the risk that the pandemic might kill them off before things had even been given a chance to start.
DEAFDEAFDEAF are one of those bands, but despite facing the worst set of circumstances possible, they still managed to produce a steady flow of fresh singles. The lockdown-stricken 2020 saw the Manchester quintet drop two fresh singles, and 2021 looks to be continuing the upwards trajectory.
Today (23.07.21) they dropped their second single of the calendar year and with it, they have settled into their status as one of Manchester’s key independently signed bands. As well as being their second of 2021, the single, titled ‘City Song’, is the also the second single to be released on the Liverpool-based Disobedient Records.
The track is primarily a guitar led Post-Punk tune; the instrumentation is soft yet present and the array of effects pedals and added sounds make the track far more complex than the first listen might suggest. The well crafted intricacies create a sound that’s reminiscent of Fontaines DC and Lounge Society, while the vocal has an almost Noel Gallagher-esque tone but with the bite and attitude more associated with the likes of Post-Punk architects, The Jam.
Their previous release, ’Odes’ , featured a sound fairly removed from that of ‘City Song’; the guitars were less rooted and the vocal was more dreamy but the overall essence of Post-Punk has remained at the forefront throughout all of the band’s releases, showing them to have already acquired their signature sound despite only being in their second year of existence.
Though fans of the band will be eager for more material, this is likely the last release we’ll see for a while as the band “prepare for shows up and down the country right through till the next year.”