THE DIABLEROS - Aren't Ready for the Country

By Simon Howell - A Listening Ear - 11/01/2007

What's a plain old rock band to do? There has never been a more difficult time for two to five people to congregate in a garage with the usual accoutrements and concoct anything worth hearing -- it's inevitably been done before, and better, and in a hundred permutations. Nowadays you don't know whether to give these foolhardy new bands a pat on a back for their bravery or a smack upside the head for their stupidity. Right now, "not having a niche" isn't a good niche. Whether that's a good or bad thing I leave to you, but it must certainly be said that those who enter this arena face an uphill battle.

Unfortunately for them, Ontario's Diableros face an additional problem: vocalist and songwriter Pete Carmichael writes solid -- sometimes even pretty great –- songs, but they'd be better served by a full-time vocalist. He often sounds out of breath where he should confident, but more importantly, there's nothing distinctive about his vocal timbre. Occasionally he'll write a song suited to his limited vocal talents, like album standout "Ever-Changing," but even then there's the inescapable sense that a more dynamic vocalist might have really sent the song into the stratosphere. This is especially true of "Nothing Down in Hogtown," which features what should be a memorable chorus worthy of The Walkmen, but Carmichael doesn't quite have the gusto the song needs. The case is the same for the seven-minute centerpiece, "Turning Backwards," which requires an engaging vocal to carry its extended running time (and drags without it).

All of this is a damn shame because as a band, Diableros are appealing and inventive; the feedback and organ combination on "Ever-Changing," and the tasteful use of horns and pedal steel, respectively, on a pair of tracks indicates their ability to convincingly broaden their palette; the chord progressions often take surprising turns but are never uncomfortable; they have an instinctive sense of when to pile on distortion and cascading guitars and when to ease up and let the song breathe. It wouldn't be worth harping on the vocal aspect if they didn't have a number of things going for them, so here's hoping Carmichael improves, or that the remaining four members start contributing, so that the vocal aspect can match their otherwise-impressive sound.

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