dillinger four - civil war
dillinger four's new record, civil war, dropped a little while back. i haven't had much of a chance to listen until this week. i had a copy of it in my car and after several repeats i feel comfortable talking about a record i had been waiting a long time to hear.
the huge sound-blast that was 2002's situationist comedy is all but mute on the new one. and at first, this was a huge let down. part of the dynamic of dillinger 4 was their ability to write killer punk songs with the fury of post hardcore bands like hoover or quicksand. the tracks would stop on a dime, then kick back in a moment later all the while two vocalists whose styles couldn't be more different roared and hissed over one another. now, it is six years later. the production is different, almost flat, or lo-fi if i want to say flat without sounding like too much of a jerk. those intense stops and starts are gone. the band trucks through track after track in typical pop-punk form. verse/chorus/verse etc... and that great vocal interplay is all gone too. i don't think there is one track that both vocalists split time on. there may be some backups. but they are few and far between. most of the things that are absent on civil war are the things that made dillinger four so special for me in the first place. they always seemed disjointed and manic. more a collection of styles and ideas working together to make music. they were funny and political in the same song. sarcastic and sincere. loud soft. big small.
civil war is a different kind of dillinger four. still political. still funny. still fast. still slow. and it took me a long time to let go of the expectations i've held since that great 2002 record. thankfully, i kept playing the damn thing until it asserted its own identity. yes, the production is flat, but after the arena hugeness of sitautionist comedy i welcome a return to a record that sounds like a fledgling band. the record feels like these are new players, hungry to make a record but too poor to foot the bill for a bigtime studio. and the songs are still catchy, but they don't flaunt it. it took me several listens to start humming the better parts. yeah, the vocals are more static, but they succeed and for the first time make dillinger sound like a focused band.
of course, all this stuff doesn't mean much if you've never heard the dillinger four. it also might not mean much if you already like the record. but i know i have some friends out there who heard it and threw the thing out and this entry, more than anything, is a request that you pick it up and listen again, then again, then again.
there aren't many bands out there who are smart enough and talented enough to make literate, intelligent punk music that doesn't seem cliche. these guys are still at it. much respect.
and just because i haven't said it officially yet. i like the record. alot.
the huge sound-blast that was 2002's situationist comedy is all but mute on the new one. and at first, this was a huge let down. part of the dynamic of dillinger 4 was their ability to write killer punk songs with the fury of post hardcore bands like hoover or quicksand. the tracks would stop on a dime, then kick back in a moment later all the while two vocalists whose styles couldn't be more different roared and hissed over one another. now, it is six years later. the production is different, almost flat, or lo-fi if i want to say flat without sounding like too much of a jerk. those intense stops and starts are gone. the band trucks through track after track in typical pop-punk form. verse/chorus/verse etc... and that great vocal interplay is all gone too. i don't think there is one track that both vocalists split time on. there may be some backups. but they are few and far between. most of the things that are absent on civil war are the things that made dillinger four so special for me in the first place. they always seemed disjointed and manic. more a collection of styles and ideas working together to make music. they were funny and political in the same song. sarcastic and sincere. loud soft. big small.
civil war is a different kind of dillinger four. still political. still funny. still fast. still slow. and it took me a long time to let go of the expectations i've held since that great 2002 record. thankfully, i kept playing the damn thing until it asserted its own identity. yes, the production is flat, but after the arena hugeness of sitautionist comedy i welcome a return to a record that sounds like a fledgling band. the record feels like these are new players, hungry to make a record but too poor to foot the bill for a bigtime studio. and the songs are still catchy, but they don't flaunt it. it took me several listens to start humming the better parts. yeah, the vocals are more static, but they succeed and for the first time make dillinger sound like a focused band.
of course, all this stuff doesn't mean much if you've never heard the dillinger four. it also might not mean much if you already like the record. but i know i have some friends out there who heard it and threw the thing out and this entry, more than anything, is a request that you pick it up and listen again, then again, then again.
there aren't many bands out there who are smart enough and talented enough to make literate, intelligent punk music that doesn't seem cliche. these guys are still at it. much respect.
and just because i haven't said it officially yet. i like the record. alot.