The Deadly Syndrome

“Eucalyptus“
from the album The Ortolan
2007
iTunes

Making one’s way through any decently sized city’s local music scene can be an adventure fraught with all manner of sonic peril. If a music fan isn’t careful, they’re prone to subject themselves to any manner of horrible bands that are shoddily ripping off whatever musical trend has been popular for the past six months. Soul-sucking sycophants with barely average talent pick up the most currently popular albums and mash it all together, hoping to pass the sound off as their own — it’s a bastardization of all that’s good and holy about making music.

Luckily, every once in a while, there are groups that come along who are able to listen to the prevailing musical winds, pluck out what works for them, merge it with their own talent, and create a sound that’s all their own. Hailing from Los Angeles and recently signed to Dim Mak Records, the Deadly Syndrome is one of those bands and The Ortolan is their debut album. With a diverse palate of instruments that includes a xylophone, wheezy pianos, and an accordion, these four gentlemen have achieved the difficult feat of both satiating and impressing the cynical listener hoping to dismiss them as copy-cats and making accessible indie pop record that will attract the average music listener. With greats tracks like “I Hope I Become a Ghost,” “Friends Who Don’t Go Out at Night,” and “Creature, Creature,” The Ortolan is a solid album full of folksy songs that could have just as easily been found in either a short story anthology or your favorite local independent music store.