maurice deebank: inner thought zone

Maurice Deebank recorded his instrumental solo debut for the seminal Cherry Red imprint in 1984 while still the guitarist in Felt, the pastoral English pop group led by the notorious eccentric Lawrence Hayward (best known simply as Lawrence). Felt’s early albums Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty, The Splendour of Fear and Ignite the Seven Cannons and Set Sail for the Sun were marked by melancholy guitar interplay and a lofty pop sensibility, but Inner Thought Zone illustrates how significant Deebank’s role was in crafting Felt’s signature sound. Seven-minute album centerpiece “Silver Fountain of Paradise Square” and “Study No. 1” make beautiful use of supple arpeggios whimsically bent into cyclical structures in and around which Deebank weaves solos. His performance is nuanced and dynamic, undermining his own technical skill for the sake of expression, and it’s easy to hear Inner Thought Zone as an exposition of the increasing introspection that led to his departure from Felt. Glistening chords, synthesizer flourishes and breezy plateaus of exaltation collide with the sense of loss and isolation generally explored by Deebank’s peers in the post-punk era, but rarely with as much impeccable grace and finesse.