Customer Reviews

In a Bar Under the Sea

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It a bit frustrating trying to explain how important this band has been to me as most of it probably will sound like someone recommending something for the sake of having a strong healthy opinion. But at the risk of sounding redundant dEUS simply should be famous. Not because they deserve the stardom (which they do) but because they really have it in them to touch so many people in the world. They kind of fit it in to the time of albums like "The Bends", "Nevermind" etc ... and that kind of stuff ... its different but with the same amount of b@!!s ... This album certainly changed my life, or the way I listened to music, the bar to which I compare different bands to. They have given me a lot and I certainly recommend it to anyone who likes music with a multidimensional flavour. This band is simply amazing.

If you like Radiohead, Gomez and The Dandy Warhols, deus will fit nicely into your niche. Like the other bands mentioned, deus has the ability to transcend having one complete label. Their music shifts back and forth stylistically. In my opinion, the album really kicks into high gear with Track #4 (Theme from Turnpike) and never looks back! This is an epic must-have cd for serious music lovers! Enjoy!

"Second album 'In A Bar Under The Sea' (1996) was produced by Eric 'Drew' Feldman, a Captain Beefheart Magic Band veteran who had also played in PJ Harvey's band and The Pixies. dEUS, with the inhibitions of a band in a sweetshop, created an album which surprised not only with the ebullient eclecticism of the music but even more so with how it segued so beautifully together: Moving from the 60s cinematic panorama of 'Theme From Turnpike' to the sweetly beguiling dance floor pop nugget of 'Little Arithmetics' onwards to the brooding avant-grunge explosion of 'Roses' to the spine tingling gentility of love song 'Serpentine'. The end of the album, again, was to see another founding member of dEUS depart (guitarist Rudy Trouvé had left after the making of the "My sister = my clock" ep and was replaced by Scotsman Craig Ward), bass player Stef Kamil Carlens decided to call it a day in order to concentrate on his own band, Zita Swoon. The gap he left was bridged by Danny Mommens."

The above is some information from the dEUS-website. This record is one of my all-time favourites. dEUS have now released four albums (with a six-year break inbetween and not counting the ep), and it's hard to say which is my favourite, but I think this one still tops the list...

www.deus.be and www.zitaswoon.be

I first heard this cd about 3 years ago. Back then I considered it some kind of stupid with tracks like Fell off the floor man and Theme From Porcupine that I couldn't hear them at all. Well, about 6 months ago I put that cd again in my discman and I was totally amazed by its power, its melodies and its very complicated, yet very smart tunes.I keep hearing it and hearing it and still can't understand how these people wrote an album like that.Is't really mind-breaking. At one moment you hear a very beautiful guitar melody for example, with a great vocal track acompanying it and the next thing you hear is an over-distorted guitar riff which only lasts a few seconds.And then you go back to the beautiful melodies. And this happens about 2 or 3 times throughout the album.Although official dEUS members were just 5 then, on the cd you hear at least 15 instruments and about half of the songs use them all together! In addition to all these you can hear Scott Mccloud from an another amazing band -Girls against Boys- , co-singing with main dEUS singer Tom Barman in 2nd Track. The melodies of the lyrics are absolutely amazing, Tom Barman the frontman and the main writer behind dEUS, had done an amazing work here too. Well, the lyrics themselves have not much to offer but they are not bad at all.But with a music like that who cares about the lyrics??? I can't recommend a particular song from In a bar, under the sea cause I like all songs the same except from 2 or 3 which I like less out of 15. I actually give this cd 4.5 stars out of 5 cause I am really strict about rating cds but I'd rother give it 5 than 4.I have heard about 400 albums and this one is among my 10 favorites. Go buy it and please...give it some time cause it's really difficult to understand it.

When I was in Europe, my friends made me listen to this CD and the other dEUS CDs. Once I was home I looked for them everywhere, but no music store had them. I don't understand why either because their music is so great. The music is so different. They have many different styles. It is not just the same thing over and over again with slight variations like some more popular bands. I especially like the song "Little Arithmatics". I don't know exactly why, but I think it's rather catchy. Be sure to check out the CDs "Worst Case Scenario" and "Instant Crash" also by dEUS!

I just got back from a three month stay in Belgium. It's weird how a small country like that houses such great bands (maybe it's the dioxin-chicken ?) dEUS is not just an amazing studio band; live they are even better. And I've got their latest CD now, to complete my set!! Other Belgian bands that are cool : Soulwax (awesome!!), Arid, Dead Man Ray, Mitsoobishi Jackson, Zita Swoon and Wizards of Ooz. When in Belgium be sure to check them out!!

This is not the sort of album, or band, that you can get a handle on easily, but if you can spare some time to let this quirky, often beautiful album sink into your brain you'll be glad you did. I hate when people describe bands by referencing other bands, but here goes: Tom Waits + They Might Be Giants. dEUS somehow combine Waits' stylistic experimentation and bluesy, boozy wistfulness with TMBG's dorky, spastic pop appeal. Almost every song is a mini-production with several different parts, like Radiohead's Paranoid Android, for example. Some people might find this eclectic, "artsy" approach annoying and hard to get into, but if you like the way people like Beck or Tom Waits seem to switch genres every song, you'll like this.

In few words, amazing! If you don't have it, please buy it. Please. It's an experience out of this world. What a delight to the senses. To me, it's a five star album only because i'm unable to rate it six star here.

Almost surely the best work of Deus, this album is both full of great ideas and flawless, unconventional interpretations. Hats off to a real masterpiece.

dEUS's disregard for most of rock's conventions and rules coupled with their admiration for some of music's most notorious oddballs(John Cale,Captain Beefheart,Gordon Gano)has made them the creators of some of the 90's most rewarding and brainiest pop songs,being"In a bar,under the sea"their magna opus.

The impressive array of styles covered by the album goes from Captain Beefheartesque stomps(Theme from Turnpike)to pure pop bliss(Little Arithmetics),late night lounge music(Serpentine),two chord progressions(For the Roses)or simply everything thrown in a blender,with the help of long standing underground favorites Girls Against Boys to mesmerizing effect(Fell off the floor Man).

As one would expect from a band from Belgium whose name means god in portuguese dEUS are an acquired taste but one that rewards greatly the listener that acquires it.