Now that two-piece rock bands are no longer considered an anomaly, high-energy duos are expected to have ready answers to the question of how you keep things fresh and change up your sound when there are only two instruments to contend with.
Deap Vally, consisting of guitarist and singer Lindsey Troy and drummer
Julie Edwards, showed they knew how to deliver primal, stripped-back rock on their first two albums (2013's
Sistrionix and 2016's
Femejism), and their third full-length, 2021's
Marriage, finds them expanding and exploring a bit after firmly establishing their template of straightforward hard rock with a side of blues and a dash of glam. Through the magic of overdubbing, Troy has added several extra layers of guitar on most of the tracks here, as well as multiplying her half-breathy, half-sneering insouciant vocals into massed choruses and casual but passionate harmonies. She's also included additional guitar lines that function like keyboard parts in this context, such as the buzzy single notes on "I Like Crime" that can pass for electric piano in dim light, and
Edwards' drumming shows a bit of R&B nuance that wasn't always audible before.
Marriage is very much a rock album, but in terms of the melodies and instrumental tricks,
Deap Vally are more informed by contemporary pop on these songs, and on "High Horse" (featuring guest spots from
Peaches and
KT Tunstall), she delivers like a high-attitude R&B diva who can do her own rap feature, thank you very much. And the moody, atmospheric closer "Look Away" turns things down without dialing back on the intensity. Though
Deap Vally have found new ways to dress up their music on
Marriage, at their core they haven't changed that much -- this is still a smart, powerful rock band with sharp wit and an abundance of well-deserved confidence -- but the added details and textures make a difference, and this music points to a more interesting future for them than one might have imagined after
Femejism. ~ Mark Deming