Oakland's
Desa is basically the longstanding ska-punk band
Link 80 minus saxophonist
Steve Borth, but the group's sound is so demonstrably different that the name change makes perfect sense. It's not just the loss of the saxophone that's caused the last traces of ska (which had largely left
Link 80's sound after the death of original lead singer
Nick Traina) to evaporate from
Desa's sound; there's a newfound deliberate quality to
A Year in a Red Room, a slightly artsy kind of new wave coolness to songs like "Bermuda Triangle" that increases their emotional and visceral power. Remaking all of the songs from
Desa's debut EP,
Demonstrates Birth, in better-recorded, cleaner-sounding versions that show off Joey Busto's drumming to much better advantage,
Desa has advanced its sound in new and appealing ways. The highlight is the remarkably poppy "Homicide at the Fountain of Youth," a speedy, nervy song that, like much of the rest of the album, recalls the skittish quality of early-'80s post-punk without sounding derivative.