CD Review: The Demigs’ Yardling

by Erin Rice

First of all: whichever reviewer labeled The Demigs screamo, please come to my office so I can throw something sharp and pointy at you. For shame. That’s just plain wrong.

Let’s move on.

It’s rare that an album comes into this office, is listened to by several co-workers, and of those, unanimously enjoyed and applauded. Yardling is one of those albums.

The Demigs debut record is a trip along the indie-pop spectrum. Pulling bits and pieces from a range of influences (Sonic Youth, The Decemberists) and sometimes sounding quite similar to the pop-pioneers before them (The Pixies), this album still possesses an energy and creativity that clearly belongs to this Denton-based foursome (made up of Chris Demiglio- vocals, Eric Lee- guitar, Mark Demiglio- drums, and Brad Row- bass).

One thing that stands out in Yardling is the often intricate instrumentation created from simple instruments (the basics: guitar, bass, drums, some piano). There are certainly the tracks where the percussion follow a basic, repeating rhythmic pattern and the guitar-work is part and parcel with “strumming,” such as a majority of “Curse on the World.” However, if you pay attention, those songs are trying to express a sort of depression, complacency, or boredom. In fact, the entire album is quite adept at expressing the subject matter lyrically, vocally, and instrumentally.

Yardling begins with “Solvents,” a fairly simple sounding song with interesting poetic qualities. While the two have probably never met, since they are separated by more than a decade on the Denton music timeline, the tempo of this song reminds me of a typical Salim Nourallah piece: smart, quirky pop (though Salim and Chris’s vocals are the songs' elements furthest from comparison).

How different the second tune, “Summer Spiders,” is from “Solvents,” sets the expectations for the entire record. "Summer Spiders" is a darker, lower octave, song that conveys a sense of disarray. Constant cymbals keep this tune sounding more noise rock and disjointed, while whining sounds of interference from the guitar play off the overlaid yet differently sung vocals.

For me, the fourth song, “98th Meridian,” is one of the defining songs of Yardling. It comprises all the great elements of the album, with interesting percussion and a flirty bass-line. The fuzzy vocals do less to stand out over the instrumentation, rather blending to a certain degree, becoming an instrument of its own. The song ebbs and flows, peaks and falls, rolling over you before breaking into the intermittent, pop-infused parts.

Two songs later you hear “Throw Me Over,” which is a complete departure from the rest of the album thus far. Chris breaks not only into screaming throughout the entire song, but into this quazi-psychotic rant. Let’s step back for a second and examine why, although there is quite erratic screaming here, this is not screamo. A) screamo usually sucks. This song doesn’t suck, but that’s too obvious. B) The screaming is not done in some monotone, pathetic attempt to convey emotion where talent is lacking. The emotion is there, and the wild abandon is balanced out with changes not only in pitch, but also in delivery. The background insertion of an attitude-laden “ok” further gives the listener a sense that this song may have been composed in a state of wild abandon and reaction. A personal favorite, “Throw Me Over,” pushes the pop-envelope and gives Yardling even more dimension.

Immediately following, comes the only purely acoustic track, “Cashing In,” coming off as a dysfunctional love song. Some of the latter songs on the record include “Japanese Glass.” This is another one of those songs that departs a little from the rest of the album. “JG” is comprised of an odd combination of lyric and metaphor. In an interview with the band from early June 2007, Chris Demiglio explains the reference, “vicodin haircut”:

While it’s hard to get Chris to reveal the meaning of his lyrics (modesty, I think), from the explanation he provided, the song appears to be a mashed together commentary on self-destruction for lack of something better to do. However, two minutes into the song, it breaks into a short interlude that sounds eerily like the opening to Spacehog’s “In The Meantime.” After a few seconds, the second part of the song follows, which is slower than the first, with sweet but distorted piano and haunting vocals that make “JG” end sounding like a psychedelic nursery song.

Yardling is one of those special albums that through creativity, talent, and good production, sounds nothing like a first record. People should take notice because The Demigs have the formula down and are recognized by fellow musicians as having the components to break out of the local scene. Now it’s just going to take the fans to step up and give them the chance this album deserves.

The Demigs have three shows scheduled so far for June and July, the first taking place at Andy's Basement Bar and Grill this Friday, June 29.