2 out of 5

Label: Knw-Yr-Own

Produced by: D+

This is the D+ album that almost breaks me.  The group – Bret Lunsford’s jam that acts as a sort-of collabo with Karl Blau and Phil Elverum – has always had a definite indie vibe going for it, with Lunsford’s unique vocal style (which has definitely smoothed out over the years) and the loose, minimalist compositions which teeter-totter on the edge of seeming broken, but at the core of most of their tracks is a sense of pop that’s enhanced by unassuming and sneakily smart or clever lyrics.  Still, there are moments on all of their albums that push the indie thing a bit too far, and Deception Pass – if not saved by some key tracks – would be on the other side of that ‘too far’ line.

Skin Me and Blame-a-Holic are the types of highlights that set one at ease, and the twinkling keys of Kill the Messenger and harmonies on No Charge solidify – if previous releases haven’t by now – that we’re dealing with seasoned songsmiths who know just how much to add to a song to make it that much richer.  But a lot of the rest of Deception Pass feels like excess, or digging too deep into the humble campfire collective aesthetic (noting that there’s a song called Campfire on here which lets in a couple other sings, the middle of which – Karl Blau?  dunno – has such a dead, gravelly voice that it kills an otherwise pleasing track).  The eight minute title track is a clear example of this, relying way too much on bare vocals to carry us through its ceaseless runtime, and an experimental track like Sound suffers when it’s led in to by the acapella I Don’t Owe You Anything.

Filed into the “I guess I shouldn’t hold this against the disc but I do” are the 18 minutes of randomness following closer We Could Do Anything.  The song itself is okay; it gets significantly less okay as you wait for those 18 minutes to resolve into anything beyond snippets of ideas, but no such luck.

‘Deception Pass’ brings the less tolerable indulgent elements of D+ to the fore, spreading them throughout the disc and thus significantly marring the listening experience of a handful of otherwise quality tracks.