Dead Best is a pandemic project featuring two friends and neighbors who play in bands…but never together until now. Brian Sorkey (AM/FM) and Adam Goren (Atom & His Package) have some crossover their scenes but play individually pretty different styles. Which makes it interesting to see where they come together on the 13-song debut album.
The album kicks off with nearly one minute of instrumental jam in “Life, Love, And Liberty” that pulses and builds to a point of anxiety by the time the vocals kick in. It sets an uncertain tone that prevails throughout. The record is on the brink of disarray, but still contained (you know, just like in lockdown mode). Aurally it’s a mix of dominant rhythms, sneaky melodies and a filter of noise over the top.
I come into this review far more versed with Goren’s work, from the synth-punk of Atom & His Package to louder projects like Armalite, both of which have a strong melodic sensibility at their core. And that’s where Dead Best is a left turn for him but fits my limited experience with AM/FM pretty well. This is more experimental and tonal instead of sing-song. Goren’s melodies are there, but far more subdued. As a whole, this is punk-influence noise rock with varied influences all thrown together and stir-fried. There’s a good dose of post-punk, and I hear both vocal and guitar tones akin to Fugazi throughout, but with the mishmash of electronic instrumentation and distortion. It never quite goes where you expect it to. While the musicians are trying new things, it’s never drawn out. When something starts to feel dull, it moves forward rather quickly. To keep the 2020 metaphors going, it’s like wandering in the fog with brief glimpses of a world just out of grasp.
I hear club dance beats in “Just Sounds” and “The Lure,” and lo-fi pop-punk in “Haunt You.” Then you get those Fugazi tones at other times, with “What God?” and “American” standing out in that way. If the song titles don’t give it away, there’s a lot of frustration with the state of the world and all shades of misinformation and posturing. It’s often dystopian in tone, and when the energy picks up it goes with an even split of angular and chunky riffage. If forced to categorize it, I might call it lo-fi post-punk. It kind of has that hard to characterize “side project” feel where it goes all over the place from song to song.
It’s an interesting concept and I’m glad to see musicians trying new things. That said, the production combined with the seemingly intentional foggy state often weighs it down for me. There are some bright spots on here, with “Just Sounds” and “Cured” as a couple of favorites, but this isn’t a record I expect to return to often. I may, however, seek out more AM/FM, so it’s a partial success in the sense that I’m curious about some new artists now.
