Death Ships – Seeds of Devastation (self released)

Iowa-based Death Ships are not what the name might imply. They are not heavy in any way. You will not find songs of Nordic domination nor will you find sea shanties referencing albatrosses or epic guitar ballads with warnings of Armageddon. What you will find is probably the soundtrack to Zach Braff’s next film.

Yes, I can see it all. The boyish indie soundtrack kingmaker could put these songs to good use in his next 30-something relationship film and turn Jay Bennett’s touring backing band into the next Shins.

“Remains to Be Seen” (mp3) bubbles under the opening credits as we see Braff laughing in a bar with friends and catching the eye of next year’s Scarlett Johansson. Childhood pal Casey Affleck grins and nervously ruffles his own hair as the opening strains of “Little Mystery” fades in after his girlfriend tells him she’s pregnant.

“Aren’t you happy?” she asks with just a hint of sunlight peaking from behind her perfectly blond hair.

“What? No…I mean yeah, yes, yes, of course I am. I’m just, I don’t know…freaked.”

Things get serious when Braff and Affleck question whether they can give up their Flag Football Sundays or the Thursday night Dungeons and Dragons tourney that’s been going on since they were in seventh grade.

“A girl who wears Forever Twenty One can’t possibly understand why it’s important that a 29-year-old guy know that when confronted with ‘+4 melee’, you add the +4 to the attack roll, not the damage roll.”

Cue: “Big One Coming”

This is a good band and I hope Braff does find them and turn a million 16-year-old girls onto their music. If not, they always have Jay Bennett.