Review Summary: A deceptively strong opening track makes way for a flawed but satisfying debut album.
The spidery guitar that kicks off Bozeman, Montana-based King Ropes’
Dirt is perhaps not quite enough to make those legendary arachnid-riff masters Slint jealous but it’s certainly a striking way to kick off your debut album. It’s evocative, immediately placing you in an abandoned warehouse with little more than our lone 8-legged friend climbing the walls. If it were a music video, perhaps the band would be playing in this warehouse, frontman Dave Hollier crooning over the band’s moody instrumentals. Most excitingly, the chorus shows impressive restraint in choosing to follow the song’s momentum rather than attempt to shoot for the stars like so many other young groups.
“Dogleg Boy” is a masterful opener, following a tried-and-tested indie/garage rock formula while still sounding fresh. It paves the way for a solid album of indie hooks that utilises just enough experimentation with noise and atmosphere to keep things interesting. Tracks like “Lurch on Sister” and “Long Lost Boy”, however, distance themselves from the tone set by the opener, opting for a more traditional rock sound somewhere in between The Strokes and Pixies. Certainly they are not as strong as “Dogleg Boy” might have led one to believe, perhaps struggling to carry the heavy atmosphere over into their more upbeat nature, but once you accept the change it is easier to see that these are, in fact, very decent tunes.
Other highlights include the gentle acoustic ballad “International Shortwave”, lead single “Shovel and a Pickaxe”, and late album standout “She’s a Runner”. “International Shortwave” represents a bit of a change in pace for the record, with many of the tracks following it dwelling in mid-tempo. “Shovel and a Pickaxe” relies heavily on its groove, with some interesting background ambience doing the rest of the work. Meanwhile, “She’s a Runner” is a contender for the album’s best ballad, somehow remaining incredibly memorable without really doing very much. It simply rests on its sweet melody, never venturing too far but never really needing to either.
However, “Mandolins and Gasoline” and “Low Over Cheyenne” struggle a bit to impose themselves, coming across as a bit forgettable in the grander context of the album. The same can be said of “She Says / Come On” from the album’s first half. However, none of these songs are offensively bad and while they do take you out of the album a bit they don’t significantly damper the experience. The album itself benefits from closer “Rocks in Little Crevices” immensely, leaving on a high note that makes the experience feel well worth it. It’s another acoustic number, this time dark and minimalist and rounds off the album about as well as possible.
Dirt is a satisfying album, particularly for a debut. Despite nothing being able to match the immense promise of the opening track, there is plenty to enjoy here and indie fans will almost certainly find a song or two to latch onto. If King Ropes are able to build on what they show mere glimpses of here, they have the potential to create a truly fantastic album. For now, though, we will have to settle with just a very good one.
