Labels: Mutant Pop
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Dillinger Four have already made the years best album, but this 4 track EP predates it. And seeing as I think so highly of their outpouring of genius that is known as “Midwestern Songs Of The Americas” I may have slightly unfair expectations of them. You see, it’s questionnable as to whether the 4 songs on here would be worthy of a place on that album. All of them are pretty solid, but they are just, well, punk sounding songs. A bit of pop, and a bit of rock. The lyrics are as awesome as they are now, but the songs themselves don’t instantly jump out and blow you away. Ok, so the production is less impressive, leaving the vocals to try and outshout the blistering guitar.
First up is “Fuck You, Ms. Rochelle”, and whilst it’s OK, you’ll have heard this thing a thousand times before, and won’t care that much. Then it’s “An American Banned” which is straightforward melodic punk rock, with ‘ba ba ba ba ba’ backing vocals. It’s a rockin’ blast though. Turning to the b-side, and you have “Thanks for Nothing” that positively motors a long in rocky pop punk mode. You get the feeling that with the same quality production that the album was served with, then this would be a stormer, as it’s got all the little touches that help set their songs apart from the pack. The 4 songs are rounded out with “Twin Cities Sinners, United”. This one reminds me a little of some of the songs from the Blew album. Cool again, without being outstanding. And there is a sample at the end of a man who speaks a bit like that bloke Boomhauwer (sp?) out of King of the Hill. Cool!
Well, if D4 improved this much between one EP and an album, I hate to think how good their next releases are going to be. Worth checking out though, and if it’s your introduction to the band, just salivate at the prospect that the band can do songs that are somewhat better than these, even though they aren’t all bad in themselves.