At its core, Lonely People With Power feels like Deafheaven operating at peak confidence – a band that has fully integrated all aspects of their musical identity into something greater than the sum of its parts.

Words by Felix Bartlett | March 28, 2025

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Deafheaven have never been a band content to stay in one place. Over their decade-plus career, they’ve continually evolved, morphing from blackgaze pioneers to shoegaze experimentalists while maintaining an unmistakable core identity. Their sixth album Lonely People With Power represents perhaps their most compelling synthesis yet – a record that marries the volcanic intensity of their early work with the refined melodicism of recent years to create what may be their most complete artistic statement to date.

Arriving three years after the polarising Infinite Granite – which saw the band largely abandon metal conventions in favour of dreamy post-punk textures – this new collection immediately re-establishes Deafheaven’s heavier instincts while retaining the musical maturity they’ve cultivated.

The opening one-two punch of ‘Doberman’ and ‘Magnolia’ leaves no doubt: George Clarke’s scorched-earth screams have returned with vengeance, Kerry McCoy and Shiv Mehra’s guitars alternate between icy tremolo picking and warm, reverb-drenched chords, and Daniel Tracy’s drumming delivers both punishing blast beats and nuanced rhythmic complexity. Yet this isn’t simply a retreat to Sunbather-era sounds – there’s a newfound sophistication in how these elements interact, a sense that every crushing moment is counterbalanced by purposeful beauty.

What makes Lonely People With Power so remarkable is its fluid sense of dynamics. Tracks like ‘Amethyst’ and ‘Revelator’ showcase Deafheaven’s mastery of tension and release, shifting seamlessly from passages of overwhelming density to moments of almost weightless tranquillity. The dreamy ‘The Garden Route‘ floats on shimmering guitars that wouldn’t sound out of place on an Interpol record, while ‘Winona‘ builds from moody introspection to a cathartic, blastbeat-driven climax. Even the album’s interstitial moments – particularly the haunting collaboration with Boy Harsher’s Jae Matthews – feel essential rather than ornamental, adding atmospheric depth to the overall journey.

Producer Justin Meldal-Johnsen deserves particular credit for the album’s massive yet detailed sound, giving each instrument room to breathe while maintaining the overwhelming power that defines Deafheaven at their best. Clarke’s lyrics remain as evocative as ever, exploring themes of existential dread, personal trauma, and the corrupting nature of power with his signature poetic abstraction. His vocal performance is arguably his most versatile yet, moving between anguished howls and hypnotic clean passages with equal conviction.

At its core, Lonely People With Power feels like Deafheaven operating at peak confidence – a band that has fully integrated all aspects of their musical identity into something greater than the sum of its parts. It’s heavier than Infinite Granite yet more nuanced than New Bermuda, more immediate than Ordinary Corrupt Human Love yet more ambitious than Sunbather. For longtime fans, it’s a thrilling reminder of why Deafheaven became one of modern heavy music’s most vital acts. For newcomers, it serves as the perfect introduction to their singular vision – a vision that continues to evolve in fascinating, unpredictable ways.

Verdict: 💀💀💀💀

For fans of: Alcest, Sadness, Harakiri for the Sky

Lonely People With Power is released on March 28 via Roadrunner