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Dead Favours - Single Review: High Flying

18 Aug 2017 // A review by butch181
They came out of nowhere with their breakthrough single, Dig. Accompanied by a great fun music video, it took the local music scene by storm, and has shown little sign of slowing down in popularity. So what do you do once your debut single manages to stay in the charts for 20+ weeks? Continue testing the waters, with a follow up single. High Flying is the second of three tracks that were recorded in the Melbourne studio of Shihad's Tom Larkin.

With no other music released publicly (apart from checking out their live shows), this second single will be telling for the rock listeners out there as to the true direction of the group, Dead Favours. Having interviewed them in recently I know they consider a lot of the foundation of their music comes from the more bluesy genres.

High Flying certainly has a much a stronger blues tone to it, starting off with an almost funky play on a "Munsters" theme song, before breaking into a more generic haze rock sound. The elongated vocal notes in the chorus provide an almost unintelligible warble that is both catchy yet strictly clockwork, with a beat that begs for the body to move with it.

The bridge has a bit of a Decortica sound to it, but overall it's a new sound. It's certainly no Dig, but with each playthrough, the appeal continues to grow. It shows a great dynamic in the band with an early confidence to bend the expectations of their musical bracket.
 

About Dead Favours

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;

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Dead Favours

Releases

Riffing & Yelling Part 2
Year: 2023
Type: Album
Riffing & Yelling Part 1
Year: 2021
Type: Album
Misbehaviour
Year: 2019
Type: Album
The Dead EP
Year: 2018
Type: EP

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