Dead Man
Euphoria
(Crusher)
By Will York
The second album by Swedish quartet Dead Man, **Euphoria,** is an unapologetic throwback to the turn of the 1970s – specifically, the transition from ‘60s folk- and psyche-rock to the more sinister hard-rock and proto-metal sounds that would follow. Most of the album is poised right on that brink, and its 11 songs bring to mind everything from early Pink Floyd and Donovan (in his more tolerable moments) to Peter Frampton-era Humble Pie to the softer side of Led Zep or Black Sabbath (think “Planet Caravan”). Impressively, they do so without making me feel like I need to check myself into rehab.
Yes, you can almost smell your burnout uncle’s musty LP collection while listening to this disc, but the songwriting and arrangements are really well done, and the headphone-ready production captures it all with a warmth that’s increasingly rare in this era of Pro Tools.