When Deci Gallen announced his return to releasing music, I was keen to hear what the Belfast based producer/musician had in store for us. Back in the halcyon days of a flourishing Belfast music scene when gigs were on every night of the week Deci fronted a band called The Jane Bradfords, who had a nice line in electro indie pop. Now calling himself LMINL, Deci is releasing a new album entitled The Dance Hall and it feels like starting all over again for him. Coming back was brave enough, but Deci lost the hearing in one ear from a virus and also had a tumour in the other ear causing damage to it, so he only has partial hearing in that ear. He wanted people to know this to raise awareness and let others know all is not lost. As someone who suffers from tinnitus, I guess this added a little extra to my appraisal of this album.
Opener ‘Intro/Mary’ begins with some magical twinkling tones and melancholic strings as Deci tenderly sings “I wish I’d wasted far more time with you”. As the track erupts into a grandiose spread of drums and fuzzy guitar waves bringing a euphoric twist as brass completes the melodic finale like early Spiritualized. Fleeting strings flicker with warm synth tones ushering in the languid instrumental ‘Kodachrome’. Those gorgeous twinkles hover in the air as the synths rise up with some marvellous deeper tones.
In ‘We Were Something’ morose strings delicately weave as Deci sings a heartbreaking melody, his voice teetering on the edge of breaking up. The song reminds me of a lo-fi Snow Patrol before studio trickery took grip. The attention to detail in the layering of strings and the dynamics of their fusion with synths is quite remarkable given Deci’s hearing condition. (He had to pay engineer Ben Etter to finalise the album-money well spent). As the track winds to its closure the drums ramp up along with a swelling of strings and synths as Deci is joined by a triumphant backing of choral voices, courtesy of Ché Aimee Dorval and Drew Makes Noise. It’s truly glorious. The music box that adorns the album cover provides the gentle twinkles at the start of ‘Postcard’. Deci’s heartbreaking melody adds to the serenity. Once again, the placement of the instrumentation throughout your headspace is stunning.
The first track released from the album is the haunting and beautiful ‘Halo Light’ which has a simple yet striking melody. Deci’s voice is a rich baritone reminiscent of The National’s Matt Berninger. If there’s any justice, this song ought to be huge, it deserves to be heard as it’s just stunning. The spacey instrumental ‘Murvagh’ rides along on a glass horse with some delicate twinkles, shuffling brushed drums and a plethora of electro tones. The addition of what sounds like a quaint harpsichord is a master stroke. ‘Breathe’ has swirling synths that intertwine with warm strings as Deci brings an emotional vocal delivery that is full of yearning. When he’s joined by the backing singers, the track reaches for an understated yet grand finale and it’s beautiful.
The monotone and dry delivery of ‘Sarah-Ann’ fits the droning synth backdrop. When Deci fires out the line “Nirvana Pixies Undertones” it’s a lovely wee nod to the Irish music legends. The second half of the track winds out into a dreamy instrumental of burbling synths and soaring strings. Deci adds a little heavenly reverb to his voice for the sad open-heart tale of ‘Coloured In’. The ghostly backing vocals add a rich depth to the already lush instrumentation as the song ends with a spectacular flurry of grandiose strings and synths.
This is a really special album for two reasons. First, it’s full of great songs with sublime melodies and arrangements created from artefacts and memories from childhood. Secondly, it has been created by a man who has been essentially under the musical radar for over ten years. The fact that Deci has had some serious setbacks with his health adds to the wonderment of the album as the detailed arrangements are excellent. It’s a brave step to come back with such a poignant and personal collection of songs but The Dance Hall is quite simply a beautiful gem of an album.
