THE KING OF NUMBER 33

This is DeeExpus' second studio album, following on from 2008's well received "Half Way Home". Since then the band have had a change of bass player with John Dawson replacing Ian Raine and Marillion's Mark Kelly replacing Marc Joliffe on keyboards. "The King Of Number 33" seems to have been a long time coming, there was talk of it's release in the Spring of 2010 in time for the band's performance at RoSfest, however December 2011 sees the eventual release. The album kicks off with the cracking "Me And My Downfall" a track which was probably the first one written for the album, I saw the band perform it in September 2009 when the band supported Touchstone in South Yorkshire.

The second track "Maybe September" is a touching song in memory of Edward Michael Wright, no doubt a relative of band members Tony and Steve Wright, it starts off at a slower pace with plenty of piano and some cello thrown in before it becomes more upbeat with fine keyboard and guitar solos. "Marty And The Magic Moose" is a memorable and upbeat instrumental written by Andy Ditchfield, who plays all the lead guitars and keyboards on the track. This leads to the 26 minute epic song on the album "The King Of Number 33" telling the story of character with psychiatric problems from Tony Wright's hometown in Weardale in the NE of England. The final track "Memo" features 80s pop star Nik Kershaw on vocals and catchiness of the song suits Kershaw's style down to the ground.

"Half Way Home" was a fine album but I think "The King" is superior with better, more consistent quality of song writing and musicianship. Mark Kelly's keyboard work improves the sound greatly. Andy Ditchfield's versatility gives the band two keyboard players and two lead guitarists which gives them a rich and varied sound. I recommend this album it's worth four and a half stars, no problem.