Dead Letter Circus - ‘Next In Line’

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I was pretty excited when I first heard Dead Letter Circus because here was an alternative rock band not concerned with aping either Cog or The Butterfly Effect but instead were interested in forging their own sound - a rock onslaught that brought together a multitude of influences.

They quickly found an identity, and one that appealed to people - lots of people. They found a large fanbase fast, despite years of slogging it out in the rehearsal studio, honing their sound. But since their eponymous debut EP, they’ve become stagnent, merely twisting their chosen formula into different contortions and not looking to evolve their sound. ‘Next In Line’ is disappointing not only because it demonstrates a paucity of ideas coming out of the Queensland four piece, but it’s a fairly pedenstrian effort. It’s heavily over-produced, clinically polished courtesy of ProTools.The chorus, which doesn’t rear its head until about half-way through, lacks the infectiousness of previous tunes as well.

But I’m not just lambasting DLC for the sake of it and there are positive aspects to ‘Next In Line’. The addition of synths are a nice inclusion, and Kim is keeping his vocals in check nowadays and not reaching for notes that he can’t hit live. Still, for all the potential DLC showed from the outset, it’s disappointing that they’re yet to completely capitalise on their success.

http://www.myspace.com/deadlettercircus