By Chris Doxtator
Photo By Jen Lustig Photography
How many Dead Orchids does it take to play a drum set? Three is the magic number for this four piece. Dead Orchids is comprised of lead guitar, fuzz bass, cello, keys, and a joint effort on drums. If the drummer is the backbone to any band, Dead Orchids have plenty of spine to spare. Due partly to the collaborative approach to drums, their sound is indie epic. There’s a dark component to the music, and the droney, distorted strings and keys paired with howling vocals sound more like a movie score than an indie track when they’re played over tom-heavy drum beats with choice hi-hat crashes.
“Deep” begins with a slow and ominous whisper of “exactly where you need to be, keep pushing away, you’re exactly where you need to be.” The track carries on with dark organ and ambient guitar. As it picks up, the vocals turn to a yell, and the band pushes forward with gothic sounding crescendos and crashes back down to the whisper of, “you don’t’ have to push away, you’re exactly where you need to be.” The whole piece unsettles and loosens you from your position. It sets you back down exactly where you need to be, before doing it all over again.
“Changeling” and “The Wolf” have similar effects. Each of these tracks is layered for depth. Deep bass, hollering guitar, and cello and keys to round out each end of the mids all make for a full and textured sound. I can’t stress enough how the collaborative effort on drums compliments this sound. It creates a stronger bond for musical chemistry. Everyone can’t help but be on sync, and the swirling range of sounds stays tethered throughout the whole of each epic-inspired track.
Dead Orchids full set is available for download through The Head Room Sessions’ BandCamp Page
For more about Dead Orchids and their music go here: www.orchidsneverdie.com