Just the opening few bars of their new single lets the listener know that Dead Favours are back, and yet again they mean business. Charlie sets up an intricate backbeat, Kyle and Jared have their guitars in sync, and at the heart of it all is a filthy bassline with Alex providing melodies and countermelodies, so one is brought into the music long before Jared even starts singing! He doesn’t play on the first verse, so when he comes back in on the chorus, where the guitars are less staccato and provide sustain, it has more impact, while for much of the second verse it is Jared singing over Alex and Charlie with no guitars at all.
After the second chorus we are taken on a bridge which is very different to what has gone before, building to a climax, dropping away and then we are into the chorus again with some gorgeous harmonies, Kyle developing a guitar solo, and then it all just falls away again to a twee ending. These guys have an incredible knack of providing songs which are catchy, and instantly recognisable as Dead Favours, moving in multiple directions in just four minutes so that one is never really sure what is going to happen next. Jared easily slips in and out of falsetto in an epic number which fits in so very well with the Side A of Riffing and Yelling, roll on the rest of Side B!
Combining a mix of huge fuzzy and sometimes quirky riffs, groove-laden drums, beautiful falsetto vocals mixed with arena commanding screams and a level of songwriting that some say has been missing from rock for some time, Dead Favours have been quick to grab the attention of the New Zealand music scene and are going from strength to strength in a very short time.
Since their formation in early 2016, the band have released a string of singles, the most notable to date being Dig (produced by Shihad’s Tom Larkin), a riff-centric banger that quickly grabbed the attention of both audiences and radio programmers alike, spending an impressive 27 weeks in the charts. The success of this debut single lead to a nationwide tour alongside the already popular Skinny Hobos, Decades and Bakers Eddy which saw the band increase momentum and pick up an army of new fans all around the country.
The band quickly followed with the singles High Flying and Better The Weather (produced again by Tom Larkin) which has seen the band go on to be invited to perform at festivals such as Jim Beam Homegrown, Demon Energy Rock The Park and share the stage with international acts Royal Blood and Rise Against which was received with rave reviews;