"My Lunatic Friends" (1.3 Meg) by Deathray is the Sound File Of The Month for October, 2000 at Sight N Sound.org.

Deathray's Y2K self titled debut album is an amazing contribution to a music style that seemed to have slipped away. Deathray opens with "My Lunatic Friends", a fun lil' mix of harmless bands' sounds, ranging from the Monkees to the Cars & Split Enz (remember their one wondrous hit in 1981?). Easily a dozen other tongue-in-cheek runs within it include a mid-song Kinks-ish vocal and almost a Cheap Trick approach to the projection of sugary-sweet catch-the-girls' ears.

Click here to download "My Lunatic Friends" (1.3 Meg)

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Read on for a word of confidence regarding the remainder of the album...

"Only Lies" sounds like a second song on an album, undemanding yet memorable. "What Would You Do?" is eerily George Harrison as well as perfectly Squeeze blended with some Knack, seeming like a song the band would play for America if they were to get on a network venue...(unless they have and my notetaking assistants weren't thorough). I write that because Deathray appears in an exclusive review box in a recent issue of Sound & Vision magazine, thumbs relatively up. [Perhaps that should be put out there by their PR people. If I were in a band like this one, I'd think it would be a helluva start.] "Zero", at first listen, seems appropriately named and bland. Give it enough listens though and yer' liking it. "Check It Over" is the Cars with perhaps a twinge of Collective Soul without the committed seriousness of the latter. It's fun and Knackish too. "Legionaries In Doubt" although filler is enjoyable and catchy with Deathray's trademark sound effects perking a smile. "Now That I Am Blind" opens with pure Greg Hawks (Cars Key Man), and turns out a really cool, perfectly phrased little guitar solo. Keep in mind the pitch from the band throughout the entire CD is not to take them or the world and its static too terribly seriously. For fun, they incorporated some thoughtful elaborations in their songlist leaflet pages. "Someone After You" is very Tom Petty (or Traveling Wilbury's for that matter) and reminds us perhaps to not confuse your teller or burger distributor with your shrink, as more than likely there waits another person who's next. The song which follows it ("Scott") although matching a world famous Cars song in meter is filler with its immature lyrics, and the one after it, "Baby Polygon", is a torturous experiment in, I'm guessin', vacuum cleaner tube as instrument, with, if you can get through it, an otherwise sweet acoustic guitar setdown. Which makes "10:15", a salute to Tom Petty in riff, and a touch again of Squeeze's singer (was it Difford or Tilbrook?) even more easy to listen to. Then, in "This Time", back to that awful grate I can only assume are from a keyboard, resembling something having gone awry internally for a device which sucks filth from vehicles' floors, which is in no way my idea of a homage to the very Cars which have clearly influenced these kids with otherwise seeming potential. Lastly, "Happy New Year" is a "now' sounding alternative rock tune and a cute way to end an outstanding debut album (despite the vacuum cleaner :)

review by Morgan Field