With a name as ominous as Death Ships I’m sure you’re anticipating a hard rock band, possibly with lots of long hair and dark clothing, with creepy and disturbing lyrics… at least thats what I first thought. Which makes it all the more strange that these guys are a Alt-Countryish Rock band out of Iowa, with influences ranging from Van Morrison to Wilco.
Not knowing what to expect I listened to a track called “Little Mystery” and was hooked after about the first 10 seconds. No joke. It was one of those rare moments that I knew I was going to like this band right off the first guitar lick. Speaking of guitars, these guys know how to mix acoustics with electrics and there’s nothing that pleases my ear more than a nice blend of those two instruments. Lead singer Dan Maloney has an aching voice that fits their sound perfectly and his songwriting is always interesting and revealing upon repeat listens. This is Americana music at its best and I’m at that point now where I’m secretly hoping that I can keep them hidden from everyone as that one cool band that nobody knows about, while simultaneously wishing the band all the success and recognition in the world. I’ll stick with the latter, they probably deserve it.
If you like rootsy, alt-country rock music at all, you will like this band. Sniff out their debut album “Seeds of Devastation” and you will not be disappointed. Below you’ll find a link to their Myspace page which has some tunes including the song I mentioned above. Enjoy:
Death Ships Myspace Page
Official Site: http://www.deathships.com/