Deal Casino, Heck, 2014

EP Review

Henry Lipput returns with another review for us. This time he tackles Heck, the latest from Deal Casino. The band have made quite a splash locally in the last year with some relentless gigging. They had a regular, and very popular, free Sunday night residency at The Saint during the summer of 2014.

Deal Casino release Heck this week with a show on Thursday night at Asbury Lanes featuring a stacked bill. Dollys, Modern Chemistry, and Monterey will help celebrate.

Deal Casino, Heck

by Henry Lipput

Originally hailing from Sparta (NJ, not Greece, though that would be cool, too), Deal Casino are about to release Heck, their third EP.

Recorded at Lakehouse Recording Studio in Asbury Park, their new disc continues their guitar-heavy sound with upfront vocals.  Although obviously influenced by Coldplay, Deal Casino rock harder.

The disc opens with "Bang Bang Bang" a song that combines Edge(y) guitars, a great sense of dynamics, and a slow bridge that tips its hat to both Chris Martin and Radiohead.  It’s a terrific mix that starts the EP with a bang. (I couldn’t help myself.)

The rollicking, sexy "Fortyfive" is the band’s "Stacy’s Mom," except this time the boy does more than just get a peek when he’s mowing the lawn: "I’ve been playing with fire / She’s my boss’s new wife / And she’s fortyfive."

"Downtown" starts out slow and quiet like "Hurricane" off of 2013's The Runaways EP and then kicks it in.  The guitars really get a workout. There are cool backing vocals, and lead singer Joe Parella yelps and coos with equal gusto.

Like the Hoodoo Guru’s "1000 Miles Away," the closer "Flying Cars" is about being on the road and missing a loved one.  On the quiet, lovely, and lonely "Flying Cars," you can almost see the smile on Parella’s face when he’s singing about the girl who‘s so far away and the things connecting them: "But it’s a Bruce song in the background / I smile / 'Cause I know you would, too."

With the release of the band's third, four-song EP, fans can only be asking:  "When’s the album coming out?"