From the utterly heartfelt but certainly not as naff as Keane camp of rock come Norwich's DEPOPROVERA. They sent in an EP and a two-track single and, interestingly, they're very different. The EP has shades of post rock about it, just with stronger melodies, and the single is sparser and more delicate. We all prefer the EP, but fear that sound may be lost forever - the bass player and drummer were changed after the EP. Nonetheless, DEPOPROVERA are impressive - good songwriters and absorbing.
Our pick for the fat advance ... DEPOPROVERA could get a run on an indie if they keep working hard.
Review of 'MUSIKLAND EP' from www.unsignedcentral.co.uk. New 101203:
- MUSIKLAND E.P
This is a sort of 80s indie jangle pop band which likes to get heavy in places but has the drawback of horrible, cheap
sounding amps. Of course, this sound only adds to the underrground nature of the music's lo-fi appeal for those into this
sort of thing. The pick of the bunch on this 5 song E.P is 'Matter':- a catchy sunny lightweight pop moment that meets
rough guitars... like a kind of 60s U.S version of Echobelly. Maybe a chart worrier given a slightly more accessible
production.
Review of the 'flowering ep' from www.unsignedcentral.co.uk. New 240603:
- FLOWERING E.P
I’m only telling you because I know, but I’m gonna be a smart arse anyway. For those that don’t know, Depoprovera is a
contraceptive drug which is used in injected form and particularly came to light in the Indonesia/East Timor conflict where
young schoolgirls were forcibly injected to render them infertile and unable to further the East Timorese cause by having
children. Nice, eh?
History lesson over, this is one of those EPs that on first listen sounds mildly cacophonous and a tad too experimental
and far flung to draw you in. We get minimalist strummed guitar, tippy tappy drums and probing bass which amble along
innocently before breaking out into disjointed bursts of sonic belching. Vocals hover tunelessly above it all but you know
what, I like it. I like the lack of finesse about it: I like the ‘up yours’ experimentation of the guitar and the wafty
aimlessness of the vocal on ‘Jammed’. The break in the middle after the second chorus is riotously devine. Heap on some
‘Seamonsters’ era Wedding Present guitar and some agricultural cutting and pasting and you’re there. ‘Treated Badly’
shimmers and vibrates in a twangy lo-fi way before the Wedding Present guitar comes out again to piss all over the whiny
tuneless dual vocals. A charming little bass line and warm scratchy noises give atmosphere, but it’s the off kilter racket
that makes it. More of the same in ‘Exoganic’:- (you imagine them digging out the effects unit and saying, ‘let’s do a song
with this one in it... and this one... and this one...’. ) except the squeakily grating vocals just go all the way through
hand in hand with scrappy guitar doodlings and you get none of the expected cacophony. Shame, cos this is shit!!!
‘Carcrash’ has a better mixture of guitar shapes on display but the deliberate tunelessness spoils it a bit. When it
opens out it really grabs you, and the lead work shows you don’t have to be a million notes a minute merchant to be
original.
Final number is the opus:- ‘Flowering’. A quaint portastudio feel to this one, you actually feel like your witnessing
something coming together before your very ears. Shimmering chords and rattling tom-toms over a joyful tight picked guitar
pattern wander in and out of the nonchalant vocal:- waiting for each other to do something. Slowly they do. You get some
oriental cymbal crashes, some nice tremeloey power chords and some noodling guitars:- all combining subtly whilst slowly
swathing themselves in tattered bandages of feedback. When it bursts free and finally stops messing about, you find yourself
cheering the buggers on. Clean guitars challenge cheap fuzzy guitars to a race and then it’s heads down and press all the
foot pedals at once, as it culminates in a mighty wankfest of noise and atmosphere. The poor bass and drums cling on for
dear life as the whole shebang finally implodes. Messy but masterful.
Good fun if you ask me... I bet they’re a riot live. Proudly experimental and shamelessly lo-fi. It shows that sometimes
weirdoes can benefit from being left to their own devices: the devices in this case being a collection of cheap and cheerful
effects units.
Review of the 'flowering ep' from www.demoncow.com. New as of 260303:
"Depoprovera definitely have the musical and vocal ability to succeed, but you do get the feeling that sometimes there
isn't quite enough direction to their songs. However, that is being perfectionist to say the least, and draws away from the
excellent musicianship and experience that is clearly present. The title song "Flowering," is an exhibition of their
talents, hair-raising guitar solo and all, and if the entire EP were of the same quality then I have no doubt we would be
talking about a group with labels chasing after it. That is, though, the difference between good and great, and there is
definitely no shame to be felt in making music like this. Depoprovera definitely have potential in their favour."
Review of the Ferryboat gig (13th March 2003) from ELK promotions - the lovely people who put us on. Archived at the
Plug website.
"Thursday 13th March 2003 - The Ferryboat, Norwich
Depoprovera opened, on this their first ELK gig. Winning the prize for the highest possible number of foot pedals per
guitarist, the band embarked on a set worthy of any position on the bill - unfortunately someone has to go first! Having
said that, the band had a good sized audience captivated right from the start. They played some stuff from their current
E.P - go visit their site and check out their MP3s. My apologies to their bass player, who I couldn't seem to photograph
for this site, due to the fact that he seemed to be on a piece of elastic (anybody at the gig will know what I mean!). Thumbs
up to Depoprovera, with one small point to make - the band could maybe try to cut down on the amount of re-tuning between
numbers!"
Preview of the Ferryboat gig (13th March 2003) from the March 12th issue of UEA's 'Concrete' newspaper:
"Depoprovera et al - a clutch of local talent, and surely something for everybody, especially the chug-a-lug behemoth of
rock dreams that is... Depoprovera."
Review of 'jammed' from Natural Selection, archived at www.cliqueironique.da.ru:
"Natural Selection Feedback 22/01/03
Depoprovera - Jammed. Whilst I personally didn't like the track both Mark and Katie felt a definite spark in the track,
though they couldn't really describe what. They felt there was a definite beautiful melody in the vocals which though
sounding unprofessionally recorded didn't spoil what they thought was a good song."
(natural selection airs on URF 1431am (sussex area) on wednesdays)
"Live music, at its best"
-Adrian Day, Colchester Free Festival
