SoCal’s The Dear & Departed has released its sophomore album, Every Waking Moment, on Equal Vision Records and it’s a good one. The band’s ‘80s inspired sound is reminiscent of Depeche Mode and The Cure at times.
Lead singer Dan Smith, AKA Dan Under, was born in England and raised in New Zealand, and is widely known for being a featured tattoo artist on TLC’s “LA INK.” Influenced by bands like New Order, Duran Duran, and the Jam, which fueled the singer’s love of punk and new wave music, has given way to a sound that’s edgey and dark and extremely catchy.
The Dear & Departed is made up of Smith on vocals, Scott Sprigg and Darren Parkinson on guitars, Jimmy Walsh on drums and Neeraj Kane on bass. Every Waking Moment was produced by New Found Glory guitarist Chad Gilbert (A Day To Remember, H20, Fireworks) and engineered by Paul Miner (New Found Glory, A.F.I., Atreyu).
The band’s 2007 debut, Something Quite Peculiar, earned critical praise and by
mid-2008, after returning from a tour and visiting ex-coworker and friend Kat Von D, Smith was asked to join the High Voltage tattoo team in Hollywood. The band’s recording session was featured on “LA INK,” with Kat Von D even visiting the band in the studio for a sneak peak of the album.
Standout tracks include “One In A Million” and the Depeche-sounding “It’s Not What You Think.” Kudos to the band for following up its solid debut record with another winner in Every Walking Moment; not an easy task. Most groups never live up to their original hype and often fall short of expectations the second time around but The Dear & Departed really crafted a catchy record with the best elements of ‘80s rock and managed to keep it current and contemporary.
