Former Dambuilders frontman "debut" solo album. As an album, Even Further Behind weaves a cohesive thread of pop sentimentality and dynamic instrumentation underlying each song. From song to song, the tone and textures shift from bittersweet Southern Californian melancholia to wry New York urgency, and back again to pop-flavored romanticism.

Dave Derby's musical career began auspiciously as the leader of 90's alt-rock heroes The Dambuilders, a band once decreed by Spin Magazine to be "the best unsigned band in America." Not unsigned for long, The Dambuilders inked a major label deal (East/West Atlantic), but several albums later they disbanded. Soon after, Dave Derby recorded his first solo outing under the moniker Brilliantine (yes, named after his favorite hair product).

Since that time, he's been busy stockpiling even more of his trademark brilliant catchy tunes while touring and collaborating with artists such as Lloyd Cole and Jill Sobule.

Even Further Behind is the Badman debut release from Dave Derby (September 2003). As the first album released under his name, it encompasses Dave's various musical personas into one glorious pop explosion. Produced by Thom Monahan (Pernice Brothers, Beachwood Sparks), Derby and Michael Kotch, Even Further Behind features performances by Lloyd Cole, Vitamin C, Phoebe Summersquash (Small Factory, Godrays), Jud Ehrbar (Reservoir, Varnaline) and Kendall Meade (Mascott).

As an album, Even Further Behind weaves a cohesive thread of pop sentimentality and dynamic instrumentation underlying each song. From song to song, the tone and textures shift from bittersweet Southern Californian melancholia to wry New York urgency, and back again to pop-flavored romanticism.

Dreamy rock, introspective pop, or whatever you call it, it's music to suit the full range of your moodswings.

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Reviews

Rating: 5++++

The man who should've been a major kingpin in the pop world of the 1990s...is back with yet another stunning collection of shimmering pop. Dave Derby first came to the attention of most folks by way of his first band The Dambuilders. Even though the band was fantastic, they ended up being somewhat of an obscure favorite among critics...and had little commercial success. After the band dissolved, Derby released two CDs under the name Brilliantine...which consisted of home-recorded compositions. Switch to 2003...Derby is back...with a super slick and totally satisfying batch of extraordinary tunes. Why did he drop the Brilliantine name? In Derby's own words, "I wanted to remove that level of artifice that was really a solo project masquerading behind a band name. Of course now I'm masquerading as an earnest sensitive singer-songwriter, but what can you do?" Actually, Derby is by no means masquerading. He truly is an earnest and sensitive singer-songwriter of the highest callibre...and the man has a voice to die for. Because he has produced so much great work, it is difficult to say whether or not this is Derby's best album...but it certainly rivals anything he's done up to this point. Exceptionally well-written tunes include "Middle Class Hero," "California Nervous Breakdown" (an amazing cut), "Sad Northern Town," and "Cigarette Cowboy." Highly recommended. - LMNOP