Dead Bars has a unique talent of taking the everyday, the experiences you see and live all the time, and shining a new light on them to make them personal and interesting. I've written about it before, yet it's my job to say this again and to make it interesting. It's what Dead Bars does, so it only seems fitting that I do it too.
On their latest, All Dead Bars Go To Heaven, the vibe is a love song to rock 'n' roll. Songs like "Ghost" and "Give The Metalhead A Hug" directly express the value of finding escape and connection through music, but the feel is omnipresent. Last time around, the band turned "Tom Petty" into an adjective and they've continued to grow in that direction. It was a clever turn of phrase in "I'm A Regular." Now, though, they're embracing it and shouting it out to the world. Yes, songs like "Last Call Alarm," beckon to yesteryear's tales of time spend in dead bars, but the songs on Go To Heaven feel like part of the classic, timeless rock 'n' roll catalog where, when a song comes on the radio, you can just sort of singalong whether you've heard it before or now. It takes that Tom Petty feeling to a whole new level.
While that familiarity is great, it also has a unique punk world twist. A track like "Underground" is a punk song, seemingly written by somebody who has been listening to Petty nonstop. The influence is clear, but organic. And sometimes there's just an oddball turn of phrase or concept, like "I Live Here Now" or "Bad Life" -- songs that only Dead Bars could write.
Classic rock, to be blunt, is too long. This record captures the classic rock mood without the boredom. I swear that every repeat listen to All Dead Bars Go To Heaven catches me off guard when it ends at just 25 minutes. And that's the right length, leaving you wanting more instead of less.
Dead Bars has done it again. I came in expecting "more of the same." It's what they do best, and somehow it's a surprise every time.
