Fortune Days

The second of three releases that Deception Bay put out on Independent Project Records, 1991’s Fortune Days is in fact an archival look back to early recordings done by the group in 1984 and 1985. That sense of the first wave of postpunk’s driving yet dreamy impact playing out in America can be heard from the opening song “Days of Issue” – if it’s reductive to distill it all down to Joy Division, there’s little question they had a perfect home on Savage Republic’s label for these efforts, and the connections to numerous other musicians with an interest in the dark and driving can be heard throughout. As the core of the group, guitarist Jay Dunn and bassist Carl Boland already know how to make their instruments carry things well with the punchy drumming (“Watching The Right Fall” being a strong example there). Whatever sense of woodshedding is at play is easily balanced by how compelling songs like “Raven” and “With Not A Sound” are. Dunn’s vocals are understated rather than declamatory but this adds to the calmly alienated mood well, a sense of human connection finding its way among the shadows.