Last week, Des Rocs dropped his sophomore album Dream Machine via Sumerian Records. Produced by Alain Johannes, Matt Wallace, and Des Rocs mastermind Danny Rocco, Dream Machine cuts through the noise of life like an electric current. It embraces the glory days of metal and grunge, harnessing a “bedroom arena rock” sound.
“Dream Machine” opens the album with a Bohemian-Rhapsody like song-statement, staticky and alluring. The harmonies in these first bars melt, reconnecting to form an electronic sound and warm, thrumming bass line. Des Rocs delivers the first verse with fairly isolated vocals, backed by eerie effects and broken up by smashing drums. The chorus soars off of this unpredictable energy, painting a wild trajectory for the rest of the record to follow. Electric guitar infiltrates every sense at the onslaught of “I Am The Lightning.” The track loops around a catchy, swinging riff, which Des Rocs sings alongside in a powerful union. The overwhelming electric presence brings the theme of the song to life, entirely storm-like and consuming. Lyrically, Des Rocs pounces onto the listener in this track, a refreshing release of rock and one’s inner fire.
“Temptation of a siren
Des Rocs, “I Am The Lightning”
Spinning gold from the rust
I’ll rip the thorn right out my side
And carve your name into the sun
I can be the light, the heat
The star, the lead
The boogeyman
The fight you seek
The pain you need
I am the lightning”
“White Gold,” introduced by choral ad libs and percussion touches, slinks onward. Rocs rolls on drums and syrupy, whining vocals. His delivery has both the ambition and cadence of a chant, pumping like the heart of a relentless musical force. “Nowhere Kid” doesn’t lose any sort of its rock flare by opening on the acoustic guitar. On every song so far, Rocs has opened with a mild deception, pulling us in different, exciting directions. After “Nowhere Kid” plucks and strums, it thrusts into bashing drums and emotional lines. “Never Ending Moment” spirals around an innovative techno flare, honing in on the technicalities of every instrument involved in Rocs production. Each key smash, pluck on electric guitar, and beat of the drum is individually punctuated, aligning in a kaleidoscopic team.
“Torn up from the inside
Des Rocs, “Never Ending Moment”
In a house on a hill where my soul was bred for you
And now I brace for the landslide
So I’ll hold on to
A never ending moment with you”
“Bad Blood” is a sassy standout on the album, thick with passion and clever songwriting. With a tempo you can stomp on, this track gets its point across the clearest of them all. The melody is reminiscent of classic rock beats, the kind of stomping that keeps a sway to its hips. “Natural Born Thriller,” strumming on the bass, is unique because it has a folk, country-leaning twang. This tone blends effortlessly with Rocs’ rock brand, culminating in a chirpy yet rugged perspective. Next, “In The Night” offers a slower, quieter moment in its first verse. The chorus is brighter, incorporating a string symphony to cradle Des Rocs’ sensitive voice and lyrics. Atmospherically different from the rest of the album, this track was strategically placed as the record’s penultimate song. It draws the listener in closer, more intimately before finishing Dream Machine off with the stylings of “Up To You.” This final track begins on acoustic, sung in a higher register about love and loss. The incorporation of careful songwriting in Rocs’ intense rock melodies demonstrates his creative expansiveness, his multitudes of feeling and expression that he never fails to bring to the table.
“Running hot, nothing new
Des Rocs, “Bad Blood”
I see your cigarette stare in a smoky room
What you got? Feeling loose
Another whiskey goes down, puts a fire into you
You’re kissing on Johnny, I been watchin’ all night
Now you’re hangin’ on to me and that just ain’t right”
Check out Dream Machine below! Des Rocs will be playing next month in Clarkston, Michigan at the Pine Knob Music Theatre, and you can check out his website here to keep up with future gigs and releases.
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