After numerous listening sessions at various Tower Records and Music One branches in the metro, I finally decided to buy myself a copy of Deepest Blue’s debut album Late September. I first encountered this UK pop duo, composed of Matt Schwartz and Joel Edwards, through their very successful first single self-titled “Deepest Blue.” I since heard club mixes of two of their other singles, “Give It Away” and “Is It A Sin” on the radio.

Listening to the album, you’d really think this is a pop duo somewhat like Savage Garden, instead of the banging electronic dance music producers for which they are more known. Of the 10 tracks in the album, only two are what I would classify as dance music: “Deepest Blue” and “Give It Away.” And even then, the album version of the latter is a slightly more downtempo offering, quite unlike the club mixes used in regular rotation in the clubs.

“Is It A Sin,” the third single, is in its slow radio-friendly version in Late September. I didn’t like both “Is It A Sin” and “Give It Away” when I first heard them, but both have grown on me, almost reaching the same level of like as the eponymous first single.

Among the other songs in the CD, I also very much like “Shooting Star,” the fourth single. The progressive strings nicely complement the upbeat chorus beautifully rendered by the vocals of Edwards. “Can’t Believe” is another yearning midtempo pop track that I like.

The rest of the tracks are somber, deep, slow, and sometimes haunting. “Be Still My Heart” and “Turn Out Right” are my picks among those.

Considering that I really like 50% of the tracks in this album, I’d say that it is a great one. Dance music afficionados might be a bit disappointed with the track selections in general, but if you’re looking for non-mainstream pop-style music (at least in the Philippines—I’ve heard that they’re quite popular in Europe, especially in the UK), then I’d be glad to recommend you Late September.