A few gems hidden in a sea of slight disappointment

Deleted Scenes is a middling album that somehow still manages to have extremely high highs. Unfortunately, these more memorable moments amount to only about half the album, while the rest of these 42 minutes are padded out by forgettable mush that shows a lack of commitment to the sound that makes this band exciting. The group’s excellent vocal and lyrical work throughout is weighed down by the often underwhelming instrumental cuts.

First of all, Once and Future Band have managed to curate a truly exciting sound. The first three tracks, “Andromeda,” “Automatic Air” and “Problem Addict” recall both the pop excellence of The Beatles and the instrumental and structural complexity of ’70s prog rock. They also blend into each other beautifully, with the more relaxed pace and vocal delivery of tracks two and three calling to mind the most wistful parts of “Andromeda.”

Track four, “Several Bullets in my Head,” is the first bump in the road. It’s the first tedious instrumental cut and actually feels like elevator music to accompany one’s ears on the way to the next great song. It’s somewhat entertaining but fails to feel like a worthwhile four minutes when there are better and more thought-provoking tracks just one or two slots away on the tracklist. “Freaks” then reinvigorates the project with bouncy and upbeat production to accompany some hilarious breakup storytelling. Once and Future Band executed this awesome concept beautifully.

“Mr. G” and the title track destroy all momentum soon after. These two cuts feel like more of the band’s mildly entertaining take on elevator music. There’s plenty going on, it’s just not that compelling, and feels empty. Deleted Scenes concludes with “Airplane” and “The End and the Beginning.” “Airplane” houses another, at this point, unsurprisingly excellent vocal performance, and some of the band’s most sparing instrumentation, but the final track is a frustrating eight minutes. It manages to weave in and out of the band’s unique prog + pop sound. It’s spotty, which almost makes sense on the closer of an album like this, still, these moments of greatness are blemished by impossible to ignore moments of ‘meh’ in between.

Once and Future Band are clearly capable of creating amazing music. Just listen to the entirety of “Andromeda” to witness their talent. That “I’m just waiting for someone to waste my time with” moment and everything that surrounds it on the track is so special. This talent unfortunately also amplifies their flaws; namely, their trouble with formulating compelling instrumental music to fill the spaces in between these amazing moments.  At worst, the band’s music is lukewarm, and when sustained, that sound can become extremely frustrating. Overall, the most important takeaway from this album is that Once and Future Band are definitely capable of creating something really special. Deleted Scenes is not that album, but it does represent a step towards it.