Audio By Carbonatix
County Grind is counting down the best local albums in South Florida. Monitor our progress here.
The Dewars‘ six-song EP, Songs From the Neverglades, is one of the most off-center offerings we heard this year, but we would not change one bizarre-o minute of it. Ranging from the breezy freak-folk heard on “Strange Change,” to the demented wobble-rap-versed funk of “Playground Mediasma,” this collection of askew songs from the twin brother-fronted outfit proved to be a dark-humored, multitrack splendor.
With their matching vintage glasses and clashing wardrobes,
Anthony and Zachary Dewar might come off as local Proclaimers.
But where the latter Scottish duo chanted songs about love and
politics, our own West Palm Beach oddballs tend to favor more
uncomfortable subjects: endearing pedophiles (“Pedophile Pete”) or
jolly tunes about Armageddon (“If the World Was Gonna End Today”).
The
Dewars masterfully hone in on Leonard Cohen’s idiosyncratic high
baritone and channel Syd Barrett’s lyrical wanderlust as well, while
demonstrating an unabashed adoration for ’60s pop that would pair it nicely with Elephant 6 bands like the Olivia Tremor Control or Neutral
Milk Hotel. “The Noise Boys” is the group’s pièce de résistance, beginning
with phantasmagoric whisperings that crescendo into the refrain, “Keep
down the noise boys“; it is the ultimate battle cry for bands having to
deal with pesky neighbors.
Top Track: “The Noise Boys”
