“Raise The Dead” Song by Dexterity: A turbulent, transcendent alt-prog journey through grief.
Dublin-based alt/prog rock group Dexterity has managed to confront the emotional abyss with their latest single, "Raise The Dead." The song emerges from the raw terrain of grief to take us on a trek through denial, anger, desperate acceptance, and heartbreaking vulnerability. It's a sonic storm that's cathartic and full of unexpected pathways, though always delightfully grounded in groove.
The group's lead singer, Sarah Dexter, confronts loss head-on, singing about the fragile mask we wear to keep going after loss (life goes on!) The haunting quality of her vocals wafts through a bed of shifting rhythms and textural guitar from Cian Somers and Nathan O'Maoilearca, whose interplaying creates the volatile heartbeat of the track. Solidly in synch is the rhythm section, consisting of Adrianna Matthews on bass and Alex Rose on drums, as they all built implausible patterns of complexity that are always grounded in their instinctive pulse.
"Raise The Dead" fuses a progressive structure with an intensity borrowed from alternative rock, making the experimental vibe instinctively human. It's a kind of chaos controlled, but chaotic, where emotions and technical ability converge. Dexterity's talent is to ride the line between unpredictability and a visceral connection to the music. It is precisely this edge that allows them to assume national importance from the Irish underground rock scene, not just regional importance. This song speaks to grief, but more, if it does make you feel something, it is equal parts each time, with surfaces washing it away in a wave of sound and silence.