While Washington D.C., quartet Deleted Scenes uses some elements of Chillwave (obscured, gauzy vocals and muffled dance rhythms), the group puts those elements together in exciting, unpredictable new ways, producing a magnetic brand of Art Pop that is simultaneously catchy and experimental. The compelling atmospherics combine creative beats, engulfing, often-sunshiney melodies and an unpredictable mélange of real and electronic instrumentation, all slathered in a distinctively warped and cloudly glaze. In lesser hands, Deleted Scenes’ source material and adventurous approach might come out as impenetrable and obtuse. In Deleted Scenes’ hands, it’s supernatural, fever-dream Pop from another dimension.
On the group’s most recent effort, last year’s dynamic and wildly eclectic Young People’s Church of the Air, DS also offers some captivating lyrical gems. The band is able to capture the manic and maniacal tweakiness of “legal speed” use on the Glitch-Funk track “The Days of Adderall” (where the line “I got a magical illusion” sometimes sounds like “I got a magical delusion” and “Can you finish my sentences?” sounds like “Can you finish my senses?”). And on the ghostly, ambient “Bedbedbedbedbed,” Deleted Scenes creates the perfect Mumblecore love anthem, with lines like “We live in difficult times/I fell behind/I did some shit that I can’t deny” and “You are a merciful girl/You helped me back/You cut my hair and you cut me slack.”
If Deleted Scenes are anywhere near as gripping live, this free show should be amzaing.
This article appears in Jan 4-10, 2012.