[MAR1999]
Vox Pop

The Ideal Crash marks the return of dEUS, Belgium’s most loved band. They’re once again the centre of attentions in an album that promises to be remembered forever. Music for the ears that is a comfort for the soul.

It’s not new that dEUS are an eclectic band that enjoys a special place in the heart of a dedicated legion of fans. It’s also no surprise that these boys’ genius can turn the simplest melody into a perfect song. However, we didn’t expect such a sui generis third album. Each song is a world, in a well thought out and captivating sequence. More than ever, the band proves that they can grow and evolve, while simultaneously resisting the pop star status where many (dangerously) put them.

In The Ideal Crash, dEUS’ third (official) album, Tom Barman (voice and guitar), Danny Mommens (bass), Jules De Borgher (drums), Klaas Janzoons (violin) and Craig Ward (guitar and voice) become more intimate and they reveal, for the first time, an unexpected maturity. The songs’ construction enjoys a notorious growth of each of its elements, while their voices mix with an ever more impressive easiness. The sound is almost acoustic and the rhythms are (in their majority) slow.

With a stage experience like few, they still find their main source of inspiration in their trips and concerts. It’s on the road that, noticeably, they get to know themselves, and it is also on the road that they experience their wildest nights. The sum of such emotions can, as in a magic trick, be verbalised and that’s when everything flows with a chilling simplicity.

In all, there are ten new songs that tell us of loves/friendships, the loneliness, the uncertainties, and above all, evoke a secret world of strange dreams and surfacing emotions. If any doubts arose due to the changes within the band and the constant follies of each of its members, the certainty of a grand future has now arrived. dEUS have everything they need to go far and this could be the record that projects them even further.

And for those in the know, you don’t have to spell it out. The lyrics say everything, and very few times in the history of pop has a talent been so easily recognisable. Songs like Instant Street, Sister Dew, Put All The Freaks Up Front [sic], Let’s See Who Goes Down First, The Ideal Crash or Magdalena are songs of always and leave no one indifferent. Once again we will be patiently waiting to see Barman and co. live in Portugal. And it looks like we’re in luck since, as well as a promotional visit, two concerts are already scheduled for our country, in June at Lisbon’s and Oporto’s Coliseums. You can start striking the days on your calendars, and, till then, our consolation lies in listening to this excellent record repeatedly.