Ortolan, The

The Deadly Syndrome – The Ortolan Reviewed by Witz

Indie rock in the style of Badly Drawn Boy and Rufus Wainwright. This eclectic, but cohesive album is the first release from the LA based group The Deadly Syndrome. Hailing from New York City, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, each member’s influence is felt and each song brings a slightly different sound and emotion to the forefront. Each song tends to start slowly and build up to a big finish. FCC CLEAN.

**1) Bright, clashy music with a mix of upbeat and subtlely melancholy vocals. (4:05)
2) Rolling melancholy song with vibrato vocals and a hint of a Mexican sound. (3:04)
*3) Nice piano driven song—very Rufus Wainwright. Picks up and gets harsher instrumentally. (4:11)
4) Slower song. Hints of melancholy and happiness. Nice glockenspiel. (5:02)
5) Slower, rambling song. Some catchy riffs and builds up energetically. (6:25)
6) Pseudo-Western guitar riffs. Builds up and breaks down. (3:57)
*7) After a short intro song kicks into high gear. Very The Shins with quick lyrics and twangy guitars. (3:51)
**8) A little more dance-rock sounding. Heavy on the synth. Quick and catchy. (4:14)
9) Melodic, melancholic verse and louder, Radiohead sounding chorus. (4:22)
10) Cool accordion/synth intro and interesting instrumental work throughout. (5:03)
11) Slow, quiet throughout. Not many changes, some good guitar finger-picking. (3:16)
12) Arcing vocals and quiet instrumental. Livens up toward the end. (4:54)
13) BONUS TRACK: Techno-Indie instrumental song. Title track. (3:04)