When a band re-brands themselves, they can be in for an uphill battle. When you're in a band with Jeff Perales, you need to buckle in for the ride. With his new endeavor The Daphne Blue, the guitarist and singer took the helm and has done a solid rebuild. On the trio's debut release In The Vastness of Space, they team up with Chris "Frenchie" Smith to deliver a record you won't soon forget.

Opening with the heavier and melodic notes of "Overthink," the three piece uses snappy drums and a gritty guitar alongside a catchy chorus. Traditional in its rock structure, it heads closer into the territories that bands like Seaweed and Hum treaded 20 years ago.

They follow this up with a more straightforward approach on "When You Want It." It's been a long time since you've heard music like this, or for some of you, maybe you've never heard it, but these guys bring it back with grace and applause. This continues on the third track, "Play It Back," where those notes from Hum really come forward with riffs that have a hefty fuzz and stride. It comes off as harder than you'd expect, but only because this style hasn't been in the mainstream for so long that it's almost foreign.


The band keeps things heavy but far from metal on "45 Or 33," where they embody the fuzz rock sounds of bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sugar if they were playing The Lemonheads. The guitar has a heft and a weight, but it doesn't drag the track down, while the bass and the drums keep the time in a masterful way.

On "Where Were We," there's no mistaking that The Daphne Blue know what they're doing, and they're doing it better than most around. This is the type of rock music you wished you'd heard more of. The way the guitar opens the sixth song, "In The Dark Night" reminds you of so much, while the band keeps things structured differently than what you're used to, before closing the album off with the riff heavy notes of "Spinnin' Around."

You can dig in with the video above while you wait for the band to release the album. In The Vastness of Space is set to be available on multiple formats in September. You can follow the band on Facebook or Bandcamp for more information on release parties and availability.