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Spartanburg, South Carolina-based band Dezeray’s Hammer has apparently been
pounding the pavement for ten years now, and has a newly invented sound with a
new outlook overall as their sixth and latest album, The Past That Decorates
Me is being released on Rock Ridge Music. Without a reference point on
earlier music from these guys, let’s just say that with the right marketing plan
in place, Dezeray’s Hammer could be poised for big things. The music on the new
album is a mixture of rock, pop, funk, and soul and is at times as melodic as
pure sugar cubes. Think southern pop flavors of Hootie and the Blowfish, Butch
Walker and Sister Hazel, with elements of the Black Crowes, John Mellencamp,
Maroon 5, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers all thrown in. But wait, there’s more.
The first track and single, “King’s Highway,” is not exactly like the rest of
the album. It’s a breezy, harmony-laden that falls somewhere between the melodic
flair of Better Than Ezra and the commercially accessible Smash Mouth. A lot of
these tracks have those choruses that stick in your head for days, with the
right amount of funk and riffs, such as “Willing to Forget,” “Say I,” and “Is It
Over.” There are also gems like the summery anthems “Something About The Way”
and “Godmother,” the driving pop of “Hurt Like I Do” and the acoustic-driven
bliss of “Summer of My End.”
Dezeray’s Hammer has been touring extensively for the ten years that they have
existed as a unit, and their cohesiveness is there for all to see with The
Past That Decorates Me. This music is seasoned just right, and played with
spot-on precision. With a wealth of label releases among all of the independent
artists that they will undoubtedly be lumped in with, the music of Dezeray’s
Hammer is going to have to speak for itself. With this release, it clearly
does.
~Mike Farley
mfarley@bullz-eye.com
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