In late April, Tape Deck Mountain released their latest full-length album True Deceiver. The LP builds on the styles of prior releases, embracing tenants of shoegaze and space rock, but takes a darker turn overall. It’s subtle but the guitars are heavier, the noise is noisier and the ominous vibes are certainly a bit more ominous.
The official press release for the record cites that “Lyrically, True Deceiver reflects a simmering anger finally boiling over–at the world, our leaders, and ourselves.” While it’s careful not to cast itself as a full-on political record, the words contained here are clearly an important piece of the overall presentation. It’s refreshing to see a lyric video from a band performing in a genre that often obfuscates their vocals; treating them more like just another instrument than as a conduit for a proper message. “Screen Savior” is an exception to the rule.
In the video, Tape Deck Mountain frontman Travis Trevisan’s stands against a brick wall shedding posters of the songs lyrics, a possible nod to Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and a callback to the turbulent political times of the mid-60s. Lyrically he confronts the 1% and their seeming blindness to being able to heal the world and prevent the innocent from being thrown to the wolves. It’s a sentiment about the abusive powers of corporate greed and the unbelievably imbalance of the have and the have-nots; perfectly packaged in a wall of sound, a fitting aural metaphor for a pounding at the gates.