Album Review

The Nearly Deads – ‘We Are The Nearly Deads’ [Album Review]

Resounding with large rock structures and the primo-rock vocals of TJ, The Nearly Deads’ ‘We Are The Nearly Deads’ thrums with weighty, unwavering dynamics.

Published

3 years ago

07/07/2023

Randy Radic

The Nearly Deads ‘We Are The Nearly Deads’ album artwork

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Nashville-based alt-rock outfit The Nearly Deads releases their latest record, We Are The Nearly Deads, an album brought to life by punchy drums, chunky guitars, and electrifying vocals.

Made up of Steve Tobi (guitar, bass), Javier Garza Jr. (guitar), Josh Perrone (drums), and Theresa “TJ” Jeane (vocals, keyboards), The Nearly Deads arrived in a big way in 2011 with the release of the music video, “Never Look Back,” amassing millions of views on YouTube.

The Nearly Deads’ sound conjures up suggestions of Paramore or perhaps Pat Benatar because of TJ’s spine-tingling voice, like a wail erupting from a deluge of hefty guitars. Blending the pop-punk savours of Avril Lavigne and the rampant force of Hayley Williams, it’s a voice simultaneously strident, melodic, and surging with vitality.

Featuring 10 tracks, We Are The Nearly Deads opens with “Suffocating,” full of tight, platinum guitars and a thumping rhythm as TJ’s fierce, barbed vocals infuse the lyrics with palpable, frenetic energy.

“Maybe you could understand the reasons / I’ve been hesitating / I’m suffocating.”

Entry points include “Maybe,” with muscular, growling guitars atop a pulsating rhythm that gives the tune turbulent flamboyance, while TJ snarls out passionate timbres addressed to her romantic entanglement, running hot and cold, leaving her ambivalent.

The Nearly Deads in 2022, photo by Daniel Howell (Black Owl Photography)

“Wonderland” laces in aromas of pop and pop-punk, shaping a beguiling melody brimming with sonic oomph that’s mainstream enough for Billboard’s pop-rock chart. While “Believer” allows TJ to display the pure dominance of her voice, mounting on soaring notes.

Raw guitars, verging on dissonance, open “Relentless,” and then flow into grumbling, barking surfaces, eventually followed by a piano-filled, shimmering breakdown, followed by ramping up to a heavy outro.

“Wild” introduces a radical shift in the album’s sound, altering to acoustic guitars backed by vivid, sweeping violins, imbuing the tune with folk-rock auras. The final track, “Faith,” polishes the album off with a wall of strapping guitars topped by TJ strutting her deliciously powerful voice.

Resounding with large rock structures and the primo-rock vocals of TJ, We Are The Nearly Deads thrums with weighty, unwavering dynamics.