It wasn't too many weeks ago that I was bringing you news of the first solo single from Dave Depper of Death Cab For Cutie. That single, "Do You Want Love?", drew favorable comparisons to the music of The Associates around these parts and this new cut, "Communication", is just as good, and just as worthy of similar comparisons to the material of other electro-pop pioneers.
Depper is doing something interesting here on this second taster from his upcoming solo album, Emotional Freedom Technique. That album, out in June on Tender Loving Empire, promises to be one of Summer's best releases and I'm starting to get a bit hyped for it. Much like Death Cab mate Ben Gibbard did with The Postal Service, Depper here is melding about a dozen different New Wave touchstones into something new, something fresh. "Communication" is similar to more understated Depeche Mode cuts from the turn of the Nineties, or a China Crisis ballad mixed with a dash of The Blue Nile circa their second album. It is, like the earlier Depper solo single, really lovely and quite subtle in spots as it builds and then unfurls in a bright instrumental pattern.
For now, you can follow Dave Depper on his official website in the run-up to the release of his upcoming solo album, Emotional Freedom Technique on Tender Loving Empire in June.
[Photo: Jaclyn Campanaro]