[Photos/Text by Andrew Parks; slideshow available here]
The Artist: Deastro
His Latest Release: Moondagger (Ghostly)
Why We’d Pay To See the Guy Again: Precious electro-pop usually makes us wanna reach for our revolver. There’s something about Randy Chabot’s blip-addled tunes that makes us root for the little guy, though. The preposterously-titled “Daniel Johnston Was Stabbed in the Heart with the Moondagger by the King of Darkness and His Ghost Is Writing this Song as a Warning to All of Us” is a perfect example of what we mean. Aside from aping the Brian Wilson-esque melody of Panda Bear’s “Bros” single, the track is true to its title–epic in scope and full of, well, hope. Chabot suggested this much in the middle of his set, as he stopped to say everything’s going to be alright, that we shouldn’t give up on the human race just yet. Since it was admittedly heady for a 1 a.m. set, the comment was lost on most of the crowd. With that said, it’s refreshing to see someone who’s genuine and doesn’t trigger our gag reflex. Add in the singer’s spastic stage presence and absolute jams like “The Shaded Forests,” “The Goodman of the House” and “The Green Harbor” and we’ve got a keeper here, indeed–a Postal Service we’d actually accept deliveries from.
[audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/deastro_parallelogram_4445.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/deastro_lightpowered_1936.mp3] [audio:http://www.self-titledmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/deastro_lonearcher_8886.mp3]“Michael, The Lone Archer of the North Shore”
