Well, after a wait that seemed an eternity after I heard the
excellent ‘No Through Road’, with teasers such as alternate versions of albums
tracks and the incredible ‘Destiny Park’, the day is finally upon us when the
earth can revel in the joy that is ‘Pilot’. And my, what a joy to behold it is…
Opening, rather unexpectedly [considering Dermot’s own
preference for the guitar], with a powerful combination of Drums and Bass,
‘Another World’ launches the album into a powerful Guitar led flurry, with a
soft, melodically perfect verse, building to the climactic Guitar solo at the
end, demonstrating Dermot’s statement of intent from the go – Strong, rocking
songs, meticulously crafted to fit the ears of every listener. The change from
‘Distance Reawakens’, Dermot’s first album effort, is apparent from the get-go
– a clear vocal improvement shines through, along with the work of a producer
who knows what is needed. In this day and age of false drum loops and car-horn
autotune, it’s great to have something as fresh and as natural as this.
Moving on, ‘In My Mind’ feels like it’s almost a complete
change of pace from what I have just heard, with a massive intro of heavily
reverbed drums and ‘Epic-Film-Score’ [Technical term] harmony vocals, before
launching into some very ‘Beach Boys’ vocals. ‘dau ba di dit’ is that Dermot?
It seems only suitable in a track so based off of Dermot’s influences that we
see a credit to one Brian Douglas Wilson. The sunshiny second verse,
‘Vega-Table’ and ‘On A Holiday’ lyric references were certainly asking for it.
And it made me very happy. And just as the song seems pretty standard, a
complete change of movement that should be jarring appears, only to feel almost
as fluid as the melodies Dermot has been chanting at you from your speakers.
And you’re only on Track 2!
Saying that, the transition into the absolutely spiffing ‘No
Through Road’ is so well executed that you’ll wonder how he did it. Catapulting
through with strong Verse, Chorus and Bridge, you’ll wonder why your local
radio station hasn’t picked up on it yet. All it needs to do it spin at 45
R.P.M. and we have the perfect single!
‘Destiny Park’ on the other hand almost seems unconvincing
at first. The relatively lightweight intro and questionable vocal melody are a
matter of confusion on first listen. The Verse and Chorus ring around, and by
the second verse you start to settle in. The simple but effective drum beat at
this point is full of momentum makes you believe something is coming. Then the
second Chorus comes. And you wonder why it hasn’t blasted a hole in the side of
your house/apartment/head/dog, creating an explosion of sound so powerful you
can’t understand why you didn’t grasp the song before. Every subsequent listen
is perfection from start to finish. And that’s how music should be.
The guitar tail riding into ‘KONTS’ is only lessened in its
greatness by the confusion caused by the title. ‘KONTS’? What the heck is that?
You listen intently, drawing your attention to the strangely layered recording
that sounds smaller than it is [No easy task, I must say!], but the moment the
hook rings around, all makes sense in the world. You relax, and just enjoy what
is left of the track. Is that a Guitar solo coming? No, but we do get another
of Dermot’s ingenious melodic changes in the bridge, so different that you’ll
wonder how any human could ever come up with something so perfect. Riding into
a perfectly suitable solo by Dermot [was that just a tease earlier?], we get a
load of gibberish vocals, followed by the inclusion of an unknown Cheryl [what I
would give to be mentioned on this record!], the song draws to a suitable
close. Side One over, and all seems unfeasibly perfect. Who is this ‘Michael
Dermot’, and where can I buy his brain?
A track called Haunted previously had been released as a
B-Side to the fabulous ‘No Through Road EP’ [Which includes album causality
PILOT, an equally brilliant track that just didn’t fit here], though that
version was very different. The version on the album, as I am reliably informed
by the man himself, is the earliest of the 2, and after a jarring first listen
due to my ears having to adjust to this new-old version, this is clearly the
definitive cut. Yet another strong vocal by Dermot, this track features a few
nuances that step further out the box than anything on Side One. A Phase-Space
Bridge draws the cover of the album in your head, and the simple-but-effective
Casio-Keyboard sounding solo in the outro brings it down for the ending.
‘So Happy You’re Gone’ bugs me to hell. After being told it
could have easily been an Oasis track, it can’t hit me. And as an oasis nerd that
depresses me. However, this allows me to evaluate it on its Dermot merits as
opposed to its well selected influences. Though the opening ‘Hey’ will always
sound like ‘Hey Jude’. Anyway, following on from the new theme set by ‘Haunted’,
‘So Happy…’ lowers the uplifting tone of Side One to something more sombre.
Lyrically anyway… Despite the less than ‘happy’ lyrics on ‘So Happy…’, the
instrumentation makes you want to bounce along with joy, almost taking you away
from the once again strong lyrical content of Pilot. A sneaky reference back to
the earlier side of the album sparks a little bit of joy to those that notice
it, reinforcing the fact that, to those who hadn’t been paying attention, this
album so far has fitted together almost too well, and will continue to do so
until the final fade cut.
Opening with a classic bit of dissonance thanks to a
transition with the final chord of ‘So Happy…’, ‘Unburdened’ runs as the first
of what I have come to view as a mini-trilogy that closes the album of exemplary
sombre, albiet great songs, but a selection that I find tough to remember
musically. ‘Unburdened’ seems typical enough until the second chorus, but then
the song breaks down into a lusciously smooth and tranquil breakdown, with an
effective cymbal use, before building to another solo and a beautiful section,
featuring near perfect vocals from Michael and an even softer backing. The song
finishes, but then takes you off guard once again for a final mini chorus – a
perfect end to yet another great song.
Every album has to have its epic, be it just ‘the best
track’ near the end, or the long, near perfect solo that closes the album [or
thereabouts]. Instead, Pilot has ‘Unforgiving Night’, Dermot’s only
collaboration, here with his Producer and Bassist Ed Ackerson. Here, we get,
not only the ‘longest track’, but also a great solo by Dermot, and a
‘post-solo’ song structure that makes you question where you are in the song.
It could end at any point, but it doesn’t, and when you don’t think it will, it
does – is Dermot veering into the realm of Prog? Either way, what comes after
the solo, as I have said, can only be described as Dermot’s ‘Epic’, and ‘My
Gravity’ is the perfect way to follow it up…
Starting with an almost demo-like sound [check out Decaf
Coffee on the ‘No Through Road’ EP], ‘My Gravity’m much like the earlier
‘Destiny Park’, aims to build from a far smaller sound than it sets out to, but
unlike the explosion of sound in track 4, here the sombre tone lends to a far
gentler sound for the majority. ‘You can’t go off in space and come back in one
piece – but you can try’ whispers Dermot, making us wonder the fate of the
unknown character on the album cover – will he ever get home? A huge lift into
the final solo of the album brings down to a heartfelt ‘oh’ by Dermot,
melodically akin to the opening of ‘In My Mind’.
And then it finishes, and you stop. You questioned if what
you just played was really accomplished by a young man in Minnesota, or the
work of those far higher up in the industry. But that unmatchable sound makes
you realise you’re wasting precious time. You run over to your Hi-Fi and hit
the play button with almost as much glee as you did playing your Smile Sessions
Box Set for the first time, and once again… you disappear…
In other words, it wasn’t bad.
Be sure to 'like' Dermot's Facebook page here, and download this incredible album [or order the limited edition CD] from Bandcamp here!
