All the Dead Pilots

If they can make deluxe DVDs with extra audio commentary tracks you can turn on, why can’t they make deluxe CDs where you can turn the vocal track off? Without the high school lyrics and earnest modern rock styles of vocalist Dave Ort, the other three Dead Pilots would fly a little higher, but still with the unsatisfied air of a Battle of the Bands runner-up. The odours of a cover band still linger around these guys: early U2 riffs, pizzicato ’80s metal-picking, ’90s sensitive rock moments (think Goo Goo Dolls/Everclear). Add overactive drumming and radio-friendly production and it comes across like a very polished demo, but a demo nonetheless. Once the three musicians begin to explore their own palettes, some sparks will doubtlessly show, but for now, the band is just one Ort too heavy to float.