Customer Reviews

Birds & Cages [+digital booklet]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album is nothing short of absolutely amazing and maybe one of my best musical purchases in years. I found "All the Houses Look the Same" by accident and immediately fell in love with this group. "Birds & Cages" sealed the deal for Deas Vail being one of my all time favorites. I can't give this album enough stars. The vocals and lyrics are outstanding. What gets me most is the beautiful harmony in the vocals between the lead singer and the female band member which makes an appearance in many of the songs. The songs are also much more dynamic and complex than Houses.

A must have!

I've been a huge fan of Deas Vail since discovering them nearly 2 years ago. The best way to describe them would be this: indie pop-infused rock with soaring and haunting melodies sung by one of the best vocalists in rock. Having seen them three times in concert, I can say that they're far better live than most bands are in the studio with the benefit of editing, autotune, etc.

The new album is, hands down, one of the best albums I've ever bought, let alone in 2009. They've taken their music to a new level. The tunes are full of earworms (tunes you can't out of your head). As one blogger put it, "Deas Vail is one of the few bands who can take pop/rock music and force the listener to apply 'beautiful' to it as an adjective." If that sounds appealing to you, "Birds and Cages" should be the first thing you purchase.

Put it this way: I'm a huge U2 fan, but on every one of their albums, I usually end up skipping past at least half the songs. Not with Deas Vail. Deas Vail has made an album where every single song is something that 99% of other bands can never match.

As for the individual members: Wes Blaylock (the lead singer) is just as jaw-dropping with his soaring vocal pyrotechnics, and his wife Laura (keyboardist) is featured more often in some very lovely vocal duos. Andy Moore (guitar) is constantly pushing the envelope with different sounds and effects. Kelsey Harelson's drumming rarely just keeps a steady beat; instead, he manages, in song after song, to use the offbeats in a way that propels the music forward and gives it a sense of mission and urgency. Finally, Justin Froning's energetic bass playing rounds out the band nicely.

I saw these guys in concert before I knew them. They're excellent, but I didn't think of buying the album until I saw this uh-mazing deal. $2 for all this? It's a no-brainer. My personal favorites are "Excuses," "The Leaper," and "Dance In Perfect Time."

I played an online game that got me a whopping $6.50 Amazon gift card. So one day, out of random chance, I happened to see this album on sale for $2.00. I thought, "Heck, why not?" and I bought the album. At first I thought the band was just okay. I couldn't really handle the lead singers insanely high voice. I listened to the songs I liked a couple more times, and they stuck in my head day in and day out. The album quickly grew on me and I wasn't bothered by the singers voice anymore. Now it's one of my favorite albums.

Was it worth the $2.00 at the time? Definitely. Is it worth the $5.99 now? Heck yes.

So I follow Relient K on twitter and they were saying their friends Deal Vail's album came out and can get it at Amazon for $1.99. This was a major steal because I was like, "what the heck, I'll just get it." Totally worth it and I'm now a fan and totally dig this band!

I love Deas Vail, awesome album. I saw that the album was going for only $5 on the Deas Vail FB page and couldn't pass it up. Thanks guys!

I bought this cd through download when it was the deal of the day for $1.99. I had herd of the band, and was a huge fan of their song shoreline, so i was really excited that the cd was so cheap. I instantly bought it. At first, i was sort of unsure of what to think. I really did not like it very much because the music is so dynamic. HOWEVER, after listening to it about 5 times, i started to like it, and now each time i listen i begin to like it more and more. Its an awesome cd, but it may be hard to convince your freinds of this, especially since it is an acquired liking.

Birds & Cages is more polished and better produced than their earlier works, which doesn't necessarily make it better. Songwriting is excellent and the musicianship is top notch.

I first heard of Deas Vail a few months ago when our local Christian radio station played one of their songs. I then got on here and downloaded their White Lights EP along with their LP All the Houses Look the Same. I loved them both. Well, then I saw that this album had come out and could not pass it up. I downloaded it and listened to it and WOW!!! Just like their earlier music, this one blew me away. Wes Blaylock's vocal talent never ceases to amaze me, and on a few songs, he harmonizes beautifully with his wife and keyboardist, Laura. If you like Deas Vail's earlier music, do not pass this one up. It is easily just as good, or maybe even better.

I bought this today due to the great price of $1.99 and to the great reviews all over the interweb. I've listened to most of it twice through, and it's a powerful album in all the ways music should be powerful - lyrics, style, mood, quality, etc. Great job, Deas Vail!