Ever heard that silly phrase, "sometimes a blind squirrel finds a nut?" It infers that luck will happen to everyone, it's all part of our endurance as a people. Or something like that. Well, the music industry is full of blind squirrels trying to stumble upon the next big thing to sign so that they can feast on mounds upon mounds of nuts. That's nothing you don't know, though. What it is that you (probably) don't know is that there is this little pop band from Hawthorne, California named Dios who has slipped under just about every radar that there is in this music scene. I'm sure you're wondering, what does that have to do with squirrels and nuts? Well, not a whole lot, but a whole lot. See, Dios and their self-titled debut are proof positive that excellent music can come from the music world, unscathed, with no trace of being jaded. It's pure goodness. They defy that world of blind squirrels and nuts, where art is merely a bystander. Instead, they just made 12 really good songs, released them on a really obscure indie label (StarTime), and I have serious doubts that they're having anything less than a great time.

Dios's music glides in a honey-dew atmosphere of sticky sweetness and pours it on thick. It's somber and hopeful at the same time. It can feel contemplative but not to the point where it drags you under. It simply has too much vibrance to do that. If that all sounds a bit contradictory, it's not really. It's an elegant reflection of the opposite forces that tug at our emotions on a regular basis. Siblings Joel and Kevin Morales control the guitars while Jimmy Cabez DeVaca takes care of the keyboard, J.P. Caballero on the bass, and Jackie Monzon on the drums. They do it like it was their purpose to be a great band together.

There's nothing particularly earth-shattering about the song writing but Joel and Kevin Morales's soothing harmonies caress the sound waves, like nearly no rock vocalists can do these days. There must be something to this notion that siblings are naturally more cohesive musically because with the Morales's doing it on "Dios" and the Beam's doing it on Iron & Wine's latest "Our Endless Numbered Days", there have been no better vocal treats for music fans in 2004. The Morales's do it like it's supposed to be done, without pulling or pushing the music, yet they don't let their singing merely drift into the music without purpose. It simply comes together like doves and the sky.

The sensuous aura is felt upon impact, as Nobody's Perfect comes in amid a crescendo of buzzing, as if Dios were a broken sound, fixed and fine tuned. The absolute excitement of hearing this song the first time is unparalleled; not only will you be starving for 11 more Dios songs but you will also be wondering what just hit you. It's like Dios was worried that if this opener wasn't the best thing you've heard since your last orgasm, that you'd just give up on them. After being hit with a lovely melancholy backdrop, highlighted by heavily twinkling guitars, and a tinge of loneliness, all cemented by pale blue 'n touching vocals, you will be amazed that this is the first song on the first album of this Southern Californian band. But there's more...

As if a great uplifting was necessary from the somewhat shadowy opener, Starting Five drops in with sun-shiny guitar licks, the sounds of birds chirping and children playing, and a wonderful sense of pure, untainted joy. The "ohhh"'s on the chorus are like two extra cups of sugar added to your Kool Aid. Stir it, drink it, and return to those days before maturity opened Pandora's Box, right in your face.

if I want, I'll take you back
if I want, I won't look back
if I want, I'll paint my toes
if I want, I'll wear her clothes

If Starting Five is the height of fun-times on "Dios" then The Uncertainty of How Things Are is the height of its ambience. While the slow pianos, the faded singing, and the angelic "ahhhh" sample can be construed as downtrodden, the song is anything but. If anything, it's reflective of our desperate attempts as human beings to put our world in order, though most times things just don't go that way. When the pianos ring more hopeful at the end, you realize the worst result of such mental torture is unbridled clarity.

The range with which Dios attacks the music is also something quite impressive. Not only can they lay the sounds down thick, as in the several previously mentioned songs, but they can strip it down a bit. Their folk/country roots seep through on Fifty Cents. For the majority of the song they take away everything but the Morales brothers, with two acoustic guitars, and their cohesiveness, as well as their immense character seeps through. It's rootsy and full of unique humor culminating in the telling lines, "You and I know you don't understand a thing that I say/ So I lie." Just Another Girl follows the same pattern, with a whirlwind of pianos, slow drumming, and warm harmonizing coming in in the middle. The big difference is that this number is much more serious in its heart-tearing sentiments of "just another girl" and "just another boy" coming together for the perfect love.

Indeed, the love theme is one that pops up a lot on the album but fear not, the sap is covered by a warm blanket of good, ol' fashioned, TLC. The kind of tender love and care that transcends words about boys and girls who kiss and hold each other, to something as universal as thirst. The careful, country infused Birds may be on the surface about leaving a special someone but it also has the feeling of liberation. Meeting People is about longing for a special closeness, a comfort sought by all. Instead of these artists venturing into far-reaching concepts, they perfect the ones common to each and everyone.

when you see me fly away without you
shadow on the things you know
feathers fall around you
and show you the way to go

All My Life is a strangely perfect way to complete Dios's debut. Strange because it feels a bit more deflated than the rest of the album; like they're wallowing a bit. Why should this work for a closer to an album that does anything _but_ wallow? Well, it does. The vocals move like molasses on a slightly off-balance wood table, with the brothers Morales desperately forcing out words of looking for "her." The Moraleses are fortified by nothing but their acoustic guitars and one another. After a brief break, the last minute and a half is all piano and dripping water. It's a glorious decay into the solemn silence that your room is filled with after finishing this beautiful debut album.

If you get out the old music satisfaction calculator, what Dios's self-titled debut adds up to is twelve sweet songs all connected by a surreal musical atmosphere and the refreshing attitude plus talent of this five piece California band. They make the kind of music you want to hear all of the time, and when you're not hearing it, you're humming it, or better yet, thinking of the particular song you'd like to hear from it when you get into the car or home. That's the type of satisfaction no blind squirrel trying to pile up nuts will ever understand. That's because they're too concerned with tripping over what's next, what's new, what's hot. When you listen to music like Dios's self-titled album, you're just too happy and peaceful to give a damn.

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Special Thanks To:

Mike (speeddemon531) for getting me the album.

Helene (helenekhoffman) for the heads up on the album.

Without these two people I would have never known...

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Dios
"Dios"
StarTime: 2004

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12 Tracks
49 mins. & 45 secs.

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For more information about Cryptic Cradle and his reviews, please click here.

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Written by Cryptic Cradle for Spike-A-Delic Productions.

Recommended: Yes