The third Death Letters album is a remarkable one. The two-man faction from Dordrecht drew inspiration from a Texan prayer book. The stories about social problems are incorporated in the eleven songs that together form Common Prayers. The basis is always a conversation between the main characters from the book, something that is sometimes difficult to follow in the songs. Musically, sparks fly off
… at times. We Chant Arhythmically and Nomadic Childhood, for example, are very hard rock songs, which by the way come like a bolt from the blue after the acoustic title opener. The duo manages to cause this shock effect even more often, for example in the transition from the dreamy instrumental That Shady Look From The Party Crowd to the hysterical Omniscient, So You Are. Death Letters is a record that continues to surprise, but sometimes goes a bit too far. Due to the great variety, a musical thread is missing every now and then. Fortunately, this is partly offset by the storyline of the prayer book. (BvdV)more
