Review by James Buckey
Dearly Departed wear a familiar patch on their jacket: Midwest metalcore. The Fargo, North Dakota quintet doesn’t leave anything on the table to let you know exactly what you signed up for when you put your headphones on. Flavors of I Prevail and Beartooth hit you and reassure you that you’re in the right place… if high-energy, well-produced metalcore is your destination. Where Dearly Departed diverge from the archetype is in their melodic moments, where vocals find a softer landing and take the entire track from metalcore to accessible to the modern ear through power-pop leaning sensibilities.
Ahead of their new album, “Heartless” (available this October through DI Records), Dearly Departed has shared two singles, both acting as part of a one-two-punch red carpet for an album nearly two years in the running. “Hindsight” released Q4 of 2020, serving up a reflective narrative fitting for the era. Upon signing with DI Records in July, the second single “Quiet Echos” dropped, served up as a conversation of overcoming self-doubt by finding validation in asking the listener (or lead singer Jesse Pabody asking himself, depending on your perspective) if this is a battle they can relate with. Both tracks feel complete, well thought out, and meticulously executed. The guitar tone has the appropriate amount of bite without being dark, and the drums land neither forward nor behind the rest of the mix.
Produced and mixed by Jeremy Schaffer (Earth Groans, Through Fire) and Joshua Barber (Norma Jean, The Devil Wears Prada), “Heartless” is situated nicely to find its way into plenty of playlists this fall; available October 15th through PI Records on all major platforms. “Hindsight” and “Silent Echos” are out now on Spotify and Youtube.
Connect With Dearly Departed:
LINKTREE / WEBSITE / SPOTIFY
