The Dopamines
80/20
Rad Girlfriend Records (2024)
On the brand new 80/20, The Dopamines break into a whoa-oh! about six seconds in, then their trademark shouted vocal tradeoffs. The first three songs on 80/20, their first album in 7 years, set the tone immediately. Back when they were a little more active, the group was often compared to Illinois pop-punk group The Copyrights. I bring that up … Read more
The Dopamines
Expect The Worst
Paper + Plastick (2010)
The Dopamines first caught my attention when they released a 7” that pays homage to the Big Black Songs About Fucking cover. Sure, they sound nothing like the seminal Chicago band, but anyone who gives props to that record ends up on my radar in some form. Moving forward to 2010, the Cincinnati band has signed with Paper & Plastick … Read more
The Dopamines
Tales of Interest
Rad Girlfriend Records (2017)
It’s been a while since Ohio’s The Dopamines released a new record –2012 by the looks of things, and I honestly missed that one, so my most recent reference is 2010’s Expect the Worst. I know they’ve become parents or grown up or something along those lines, leading to more time between records. Does that also bleed into their music … Read more
The Draft
In a Million Pieces
Epitaph (2006)
What happens when you are part of an established, kind of well-known (definitely well-known in all manner of independent music circles) band and one of your fellow members decides to take a break? Well, in this case, you start a "new" band and immediately begin writing an album. This is exactly what The Draft isââ¬Â¦Hot Water Music minus Chuck Ragan … Read more
The Drama Summer
Make a Move
Eulogy (2006)
For me, The Drama Summer was always one of those bands that I heard the name of every few months, but never sat down and listened to. In the oversaturated genre that is melodic rock, a band must really stand out to get heard and receive respect. Upon listening to The Drama Summer's debut EP on Eulogy Recordings, I can … Read more
The Dreaded Laramie
Princess Feedback
Smartpunk Records (2024)
There are a lot of ways to find new music, from word of mouth to opening acts to algorithms. For the better part of the last 20 years, The Fest has been a way I’ve discovered new artists. One the biggest surprises for me at FEST 21 was The Dreaded Laramie. With a name that makes with think Wyoming and … Read more
The Dresden Dolls
Yes, Virginia
Roadrunner (2006)
Disclaimer: Any use of the term "gay" in the following review is, in this context a derogatory term to denote a substandard listening experience and in no way reflects the author's views on homosexuality. The author will not go on record as stating that some of his best friends are gay, as he has, in fact no friends, gay or … Read more
The Duke Spirit
Cuts Across the Land
Polydor (2005)
There are two kinds of reviews for The Duke Spirit's Cuts Across the Land - enthusiastic endorsements that focus on Liela Moss and her throaty, sensual vocals, or accounts of the sheer unadulterated indifference this most recent effort from the London-based group provokes. Unless, of course, you're that guy on Amazon.com who refuses to hedge his bets, and just plain … Read more
The Dustheads
Tall Tales I & II
Don Giovanni (2007)
Peanut butter and chocolate; Hall and Oates; French fries and nacho cheese. Some things were meant to be together, but punk and stoner metal? That's kind of like touching two jumper cables together. Explosive! Tall Tales I serves as a nice introduction to what this New York City band is all about. Side A boasts the track "Save Our Souls," … Read more
The Dwarves
Born Again
Greedy (2011)
Back in the pre-internet era I came across a blurb in some metal magazine I read in my adolescent years—I’m guessing it was Rip. In that blurb it mentioned a “real punk” band called the Dwarves, who had just been kicked off the trendy Sub Pop for feigning the death of one of their members. I was intrigued, and I … Read more
The Dwarves
Gentleman Blag
Fat Wreck Chords (2015)
I know what you’re thinking? Why has it already been five months without a new Dwarves release? Never fear, the long-running goodtime smutlovers are back, this time with a 4-song EP on Fat Wreck Chords. Gentleman Blag pulls its title track from their latest, The Dwarves Invented Rock & Roll, as the band is prone to putting out already released … Read more
The Dwarves
Invented Rock & Roll
Recess (2014)
I won’t say anything as hyperbolic as that the Dwarves invented rock ‘n’ roll, but I’ll still give them another borderline statement that fits on a press sheet: the 2014 Dwarves are a supergroup—not a supergroup side project of glossy mag pin-ups, but a supergroup that is honestly comprised of, well, Dwarves. While always performing as a 3-5 piece band … Read more
The Dwarves
Take Back the Night
Burger Records (2018)
Take Back The Night isn’t one of those experiment Dwarves records, like the industrio-tinge of Come Clean. On their latest offering, the long-running band alternates styles consistently between their unique and twisted take on bubblegum pop-punk and screaming, single-vocalist hardcore. For the most part, the hardcore songs are fronted by Rex Everything (Nick Oliveri), with occasional SPB guest contributor Blag … Read more
The Dwarves
Younger & Even Better Looking
Recess (2013)
Age makes fools of us all. First it was In Utero releasing all of my hard-found rarities on a single disc, and now comes The Dwarves Are Younger & Even Better Looking a new double-gatefold LP package that combines the group’s 1997 record Young & Good Looking (record one) with Blag Dahlia’s solo EP, some b-sides from the era, and … Read more
The Ejector Seats
Blueprint For A Miserable Existence
Collision Course Records (2018)
The Ejector Seats is a bit of a mystery band to me; it’s pretty hard to find anything about them online. I've learned about two other bands with this name, and a lot about ejector seats in general, but not a lot about the band in question. Discogs tells me the band members have adopted names like Fluffy, Ty Lennol, … Read more
The Elected
Me First
Sub Pop (2004)
Admit it, you skipped Blake Sennett's songs on Rilo Kiley's The Execution of All Things! It's often distracting to hear different vocalists for different tracks. All the songs he chose to sing, with his breathy voice that blended in with the instrumentation, had some downbeat melody and melancholy lyrics. It was different from the lively pop songs touched with country … Read more
The End
Elementary
Relapse (2007)
For anyone unfamiliar, The End is a Canadian band that have established themselves as a math metal powerhouse, similar to a more controlled and brooding The Dillinger Escape Plan. Within Dividia and the Transfer Trachea EP were intense, frantic and at times almost impenetrable. Someone should have gotten to them earlier, because with three and a half years between albums, … Read more
The End
Why Do You Mourn
Trost (2023)
The End is assembled by stellar musicians of the Swedish and Norwegian avant-garde jazz scene, amongst them the likes of Mats Gustafsson and Sofia Jernberg. Their moment of origin with Svårmod Och Vemod Är Värdesinnen, found this collective relishing their all too familiar chaos. Crazed saxophone solos and frenetic rhythmic changes collapsed any notion of structure. At the center of … Read more
