Deep C Divers’ release We’re All Americans is mainly a garage band EP. However, this group’s garage rock doesn’t go all the way back to the 60s scene, the way many other garage rock bands have a habit of doing. There are varied sonic elements throughout this short, five-song work, which make Deep C Divers a cut above your average garage rock band.
The cut that stands out most of all on this release is “In the Bubble.” It sounds like a precise homage to The Cars’ first three albums or so. Interestingly, Deep C Divers are from Boston, MA, the same region that gave us those underrated New Wave rockers, The Cars. The song moves to a computer-esque groove that just scream The Cars. The vocal isn’t nearly as steel-cold as either Ric Ocasek or Benjamin Orr, The Cars’ two primary singers. Nevertheless, the music is so Cars-y, it’s scary. This song’s lyric sounds to be a criticism of those that live in their own cultural/political bubble, in so deep that they cannot comprehend a world outside their safe little cocoon.
The EP’s title track is a fast moving, punkish rocker. It’s aimed those that want to divide our country. With its lyrical attacks on Donald Trump and its call for us to stop shooting guns, it’s clear these guys lean to the left politically. Nevertheless, the album’s cover features the band’s name and the project’s title placed over a watercolor American flag picture.
The act’s smoother, less rocking side is expressed with “It’s No Secret.” With its funky electric guitar, elastic bass and Jamaican-inspired drum pattern, this is a love song placed accurately to a reggae beat. With its organ fills, this is an authentic reggae tune. The vocal is jazzier than it is island-y, but other than that, this is a close approximation of reggae sounds.
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“Livin My Life” closes the work by slightly returning to Cars musical territory. It’s driven by a weedy guitar riff and a sparse instrumental backing. The words to this song call for the ability to live a simple life. The world is so darn complicated these days, one wonders if the simple life is gone for good. There’s even a line about wishing to have grow garden. The song also admits, though, that we can’t completely ignore modern culture and politics. As much as we wish we could isolate ourselves from all the craziness happening 24/7 on the various social media platforms, we can never completely escape it. But hey, at least this guy is crying out for the opportunity to have a simple life. Maybe if we all followed his lead, and took a break from Twitter and Facebook, we might learn to live a simpler life. We can at least dream about it.
Deep C Divers doesn’t create complicated political manifesto music. Instead, they just seem like average guys, just trying to get by. Most of us can relate to what they sing about here. We’d all just like a break from all the noise, right? It would have been cool if Deep C Divers had also included a cover of a favorite Cars song, just to see how close their music is to The Cars. All in all, though, this is strong effort.
-Dan MacIntosh
