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Feb 25, 2025 Web Exclusive By Ben Jardine

Deep Sea Diver’s sound has always been trademarked by a sense of weightlessness. Even when the going got tough, singer/guitarist Jessica Dobson’s deft delivery carried an expansive light-touch. And on the band’s new record, Billboard Heart, that weightlessness remains, yes. But it’s also earmarked by crunchier guitars, soaring synths, and the occasional heavy drum fill (often explosion-like, as on “What Do I Know”). What results is a record of vast diversity and glittering dream pop, the unifying feature being Dobson’s excellent solo playing on guitar.

Every track packs a punch, and they all sound like they could carry the Billboard banner, this new era of Deep Sea Diver. The soaring title track is the perfect introduction: gorgeous instrumentation and production delivers the mix of Dobson’s electric voice and the band’s steady-handed cohesion. Elsewhere, there’s the brooding “Tiny Threads” with its pulsating rhythm and droning guitar solo—all about ragged love and its inevitable unraveling. On the slack “Loose Change,” the band at first trades heavy electric guitar sounds for thumping acoustics, before the chorus comes in and the distortion reemerges. The Madison Cunningham collaboration, “Let Me Go,” is another standout, with the two singers’ voices perfectly matched.

“Happiness Is Not a Given,” with its poetic lyrics and mantra hook, reminiscent of 2020’s Impossible Weight, is a sleeper hit, tucked into the way back of the record. Even on the non-standout tracks, such as “Always Waving Goodbye,” there’s always a foreboding guitar solo to drive the song to its cathartic release.

Throughout, Dobson takes existential dread and makes it sound cool, almost desirable. The tracks showcase some strong songwriting, with each one bringing its own influence (there’s as much Caroline Rose as there is My Bloody Valentine). (www.thisisdeepseadiver.com)

Author rating: 8/10