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BANDS: Punk
& Ska INTERESTS: Venues ETC... About
LOTD
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Del Cielo:
Us Vs. Them
For those who are convinced sexism in the mainstream music industry has been eradicated, I give you Del Cielo as Exhibit A. This all-female power-pop trio based in College Park, Maryland, are as good as any of their male contemporaries who top modern rock radio stations, like Jimmy Eat World, Alkaline Trio, MxPx, or Green Day. Theyve been around since early 2001 and have released two full-lengths, more than enough time and material to prove their salt. But unlike the all-male bands that are playing the same style of music for thousands of fans, Del Cielo are struggling along on a well-intentioned but under-funded indie label, getting limited radio play, and still working day jobs to stay afloat. Im sure a million excuses could be posited for why theyve yet to capture the attention of the majors, but Im sticking to my belief that the big labels remain reluctant to sign all-female bands for fear they dont have the star power to secure a wide-ranging audience. In any case, Del Cielo is making utterly competent, very catchy pop-punk. They are remarkably full-sounding for a trio, and even on record come off like a force to be reckoned with when theyre rocking at full speed and volume. Although their sound is quite different in tone and style, the vocalist does have you thinking of Sleater-Kinney right off the bat she has an urgent, open-mouthed yelp similar to S-Ks Corin Tucker. Yet Del Cielo is making music thats far more radio-ready than S-Ks or other truly on-the-edge female punk/grrrl bands. Theres a lot more of that familiar crunchy power-chord rock to be found in Del Cielos music; the songs tend to follow standard verse-chorus-verse set-ups, and the lyrics are almost all about broken romances. Moreover, the production, while managing not to murder the bands ferocity, is slick throughout. And thats exactly why Del Cielos an even better example of disparity in the industry than more challenging all-female bands like S-K or Erase Errata. Theres nothing scary about what theyre doing, and theyre doing what they do very well. The drummer pounds away, the guitarist is always on full-throttle and even throws in a terrific guitar solo on the penultimate track, and the bassist holds it all together with a commandingly heavy presence. Highlights of the disc include the perfect power-pop confection that is My Suzanne and the dazzling Scream, whose guitar heroics would put many of the bands male counterparts to shame. All in all, this is an impressive disc for its genre and cannot only hold its own among other popular works, but thanks to its honesty and refreshing female perspective, actually stands head and shoulders above most of the material Del Cielos main competitors are releasing. If you like pop-punk but think its grown tired, give Del Cielo a spin. And then get your local radio DJs to do it, too.
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