De Novo Dahl

De Novo Dahl channel classic '60s pop on Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound, and they make it relevant for a modern world in need of some sunshine. In fact, the major key swirl of tracks like "Make Some Sense" and "Shakedown" could plant a smile on even the most "emo" emo kid's face. It's been awhile, since a band so unabashadedly paid homage to the dream pop of the '60s with this much success. De Novo Dahl prove extremely important in that fashion. "Sky is Falling" and "Not to Escape" also stand up with soaring vocals and catchy choruses. Roadrunner Records has found a worthy successor for dream pop, and they'll be integral to the reinvigoration of the entire genre. This is the kind of album you can cruise the beach too on a sunny Summer day, soak it up.

—Rick Florino
04.14.08

Between their playfully outré fashion sense, the goofy monikers adopted by the bandmembers, and their trendy embrace of the remix, it's hard not to get the feeling De Novo Dahl are working very hard to seem weirder than they really are. Because for all the semi-psychedelic shimmer in their production and vintage synthesizers in their arrangements, De Novo Dahl's second full-length album, Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound, sounds like the work of a fairly traditional pop band -- and a very good one. Between the widescreen pageantry of "Marketplace," the good-foot R&B undertow of "Shakedown," and the anthemic pomp-pop of "Shout," there's plenty of stuff on Move Every Muscle that would sound right at home on a good mid-'70s radio station once a few of the right angles of the production had been buffed off, and the vocal stylings of Joel Dahl and Serai Zaffiro are appropriately engaging and enthusiastic. The band sounds tight and energetic on these sessions, with Dahl's guitars and Matthew Hungate's keyboards sounding bring and full of bite, and bassist Keith Lowen and drummer Joey Andrews bring a solid beat to the music. There are moments on Move Every Muscle where De Novo Dahl seem to want to be the next Flaming Lips (David Fridmann, the Lips' frequent studio hand, mixed four of the tracks), but at heart they seem more like the B-52's, a band that plays smart pop music with a wink, a smile, and a sense of fun, and there's nothing at all to be ashamed of in that. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide