Super Deluxe - Knockoutlifted from the new album,
BUY
SUBSCRIBE
Formed in Seattle, WA in 1995, Super Deluxe were welcomed as an anecdote to the bleak lyricism and heavy-metal aggression of the Emerald City's grunge dominion. Elevating garage-rock guitar crunch with power-pop hooks and lavish harmonies, Super Deluxe invigorated what was becoming a bloated and monotonous Seattle music scene with modern-rock radio hits like "Famous," "She Came On," and the acoustic ballad "Years Ago."
Consisting of vocalist Braden Blake, guitarist John Kirsch, bassist David Roberts, and drummer Chris Lockwood, They produced several CDs including their first acclaimed 1995 debut album "Famous," which was released on the indie label Tim/Kerr Records. Rolling Stone magazine quickly sang its praises, hailing it "groovelicious." Its success impressed executives at Warner Records so much, they signed the group, remixed and remastered "Famous" and reissued it as the first release under a new moniker, Revolution.
Reviewer Scott Slonaker, considered, She Came On, from the album, "the best power-pop single of the last couple of years." He went on to say, "Super Deluxe has charm, chops, and charisma to burn. Anyone wondering what happened to guitar-based pop music in the hailstorm of grunge, techno beats, horn sections, and G-funk bravado need look no further."
Super Deluxe spent the next few years touring the U.S. and Europe to support "Famous" and their follow-up album "Via Satellite", which was something else entirely - a confident exuberant work of pop art from a band that was just beginning to test the limits of its creative abilities. Recorded with producer Tim Palmer at Seattle's twenty-four-track Stepping Stone Studios, Super Deluxe's fourteen songs showed the band exploring several different sonic directions, from the layered psychedelia of "Love Liquid Wraparound" and "One in a Million," and the aggressive rock of "Lost in Your Future," and "Divine," to the poignant acoustic balladry of "Years Ago."
After two critically acclaimed albums on Warner Bros., a few years of
non-stop work, the band took an extended break which, as they often do,
became indefinite. There were creative issues and personal problems. But
they continued to make music individually and with side projects. Recently, they got back together to see if there was still a spark and found things flowed easier than ever. They culled from demos and wrote material and planned to create what by now would be the eponymous 'third album,' to be released this time on the Control Group label.
This week's download club release "Knockout" is from this third full length, "Surrender!" - released on Dec. 6th in the US. It's an album that is unabashedly pop and rock - with all the trademark melody, harmony and charm of the previous records. Super Deluxe finds the line between rock & roll grit and pop sheen, giving sonic dissonance a coat of lip-smacking sugar, remaining true to their name, and true to form, despite and perhaps because of the difficulties inherent in the music business.