Denali is part trip-hop, part
Fugazi, combining the sultry vocals of
Maura Davis with dark electronics and the glacial guitar sound of her older brother,
Keeley Davis' band
Engine Down. On their stunning debut, the Richmond, VA, foursome can sound as crisp and ethereal as
Portishead ("You File"), as otherworldly as
Tom Waits ("Loose Me"), and as atmospheric as
Radiohead ("Relief"). On "Everybody Knows"
Denali lays down towering spy music -- a sound that characterizes them best -- remote, spectral, and always a little mysterious. ~ Charles Spano