(Or: the album that feels like it’s whispering secrets directly into your ear while simultaneously punching you in the chest.)
Let me be clear right out of the gate: Private Music is not here to hold your hand. This album doesn’t ease you in, doesn’t ask how your day was, and definitely doesn’t care if you were “in the mood.” It presses play and immediately drags you into Deftones’ signature emotional fog — that familiar place where desire, anxiety, and distorted guitars all coexist like problematic roommates who refuse to move out.
This is Deftones doing what they’ve always done best: sounding impossibly intimate while still feeling massive. It’s sensual, abrasive, and somehow tender in the same breath. You don’t listen to Private Music — you sink into it.
Opening Tracks:
Right from the start, the album sets a tone that feels both sleek and feral. The guitars shimmer but bite, like they’re smiling at you before breaking something. Chino Moreno’s vocals float above everything — breathy, urgent, occasionally unhinged — sounding like he’s singing to someone, not for anyone. There’s that classic Deftones push-and-pull between restraint and explosion, and it works because it always does. They’ve mastered the art of tension like it’s a sixth band member.
Mid-Album Highlights:
This is where Private Music really digs its claws in. Tracks here feel deeply internal — nocturnal, obsessive, and emotionally claustrophobic in the best way. The rhythm section is hypnotic, locking you into grooves that feel slow and heavy but never dull. Every bassline hums like a nervous thought you can’t shake, and the drums feel deliberate, almost predatory.
There’s a seductive darkness running through these songs — not edgy-for-the-sake-of-it darkness, but the kind that feels lived in. These tracks don’t scream their emotions; they murmur them, letting distortion and atmosphere do half the talking. It’s music for staring at the ceiling at 2 a.m. and rethinking every decision you’ve ever made.
Standout Moments:
When the album leans heavier, it hits. The distortion thickens, the vocals get sharper, and suddenly you’re reminded that Deftones can still crush bones when they feel like it. These moments feel explosive without being chaotic — controlled destruction, perfectly timed. It’s the band flexing their ability to be aggressive without losing elegance.
On the softer, more ambient cuts, everything pulls back just enough to let the emotion breathe. These tracks feel vulnerable, almost exposed, like you weren’t meant to hear them. They linger. They haunt. They sit with you long after the song ends, which is honestly rude but very on-brand.
Production & Atmosphere:
The production on Private Music is lush without being overpolished. Every layer feels intentional — nothing wasted, nothing screaming for attention. The album sounds expensive in the way that art sounds expensive, not in the way that screams “studio budget.” It’s immersive, warm, and textured, wrapping around you instead of blasting through you.
Final Thoughts:
Private Music feels like Deftones leaning fully into who they are without chasing trends or trying to reinvent the wheel. It’s confident, moody, and emotionally dense — an album that thrives in shadows and thrives even more when listened to alone. This isn’t background music. This is headphones-on, world-off, feelings-activated music.
It’s seductive. It’s heavy. It’s introspective. And it proves, once again, that Deftones don’t age — they deepen.
Rating:
🔥🔥🔥🔥½ out of 5
(Minus half a flame only because this album might emotionally ruin you if you’re not careful.)
MID SOUTH 