Review Summary: You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll drink to Brain Heart Guitar.
Fun, seems like the perfect word to describe The Dudes 2006 full length; "Brain Heart Guitar." It seems that Calgary's hometown hero's have gotten the job done making music accessible enought that most people can stand it yet, fun enough that it is sure to reach that party playlist during a drunken shindig.
Musically, "Brain Heart Guitar" is a pretty conventional rock album. The guitars are loud but also varied and consistently interesting. There are no lunges into breathtaking musical originality here. Where The Dudes put their specific stamp on things is often in the lyrics, which cover topics from accidentally injuring someone on a dancefloor to being hunted down “for something that I must have did”. One of the interesting things about the album is how subjects that most bands would write tongue-in-cheek, joking songs about are dealt with surprisingly seriously. On “Don’t Talk”, a song about being frustrated with a lover who’s too chatty in the bedroom, The Dudes inject quite a lot of angst and unease into a subject matter that I think a lot of bands would just play around with, if they dared try to write and perform a song about it at all. It’s a little bit jarring in a way, but simultaneously refreshing.
Another example would be “Mom 100m” in which we hear that “there’s your mom outside hiding / I see her lurk in the shadows / Looks like she’s reading for battle” with genuine seriousness, complete with a throbbing chorus – “I’m running from your mom / She just keeps coming…”
"Dropkick Queen Of The Weekend" sounds like it may be the party song of the choice for the album. One can't help but bob their head to the rythym displayed in the song. The gang vocals are, of course, essential to a good party song and they fit into the song quite nicely. The extremely catchy chorus of "Mendoza Line (Woah Caroline)" is sure to get people jumping and singing along at live shows and perhaps, even at home. "Don't worry you can find another girl (one in five chicks is still glad you took a run at it)" seems to be the line that, for me, best sums up the track.
The bands refreshing humour portrayed to some otherwise serious topics and nothing short of outstanding, though im sure the fact they started in 1996 doesen't hurt. Dan Vacon seems to have the experience to know just how to pull your heartstrings a little bit, yet still leave the listener laughing in the end. While reading through an interview for the band, Dan made a statement that I thought just described the band perfectly; "Dan/The Dudes: I didn't notice we had all that many girl fans. It’s funny considering we’re ugly as sin. Girls are into moustaches I think. It’s like some sort of reverse oedipus thing. Maybe we remind our fans of that one cool uncle they had. The one that was always sneaking them highballs at family get-togethers. And yeah, I was kissing ass. I saw some ugly girls in Vancouver, but none of them were The Dudes fans." That quote right there just goes to show the humour the band's lyrics have and the fun that comes with a "Dudes" live show.
No matter your thoughts on the album one thing is for sure, you will have a good time listening to it.
