Review Summary: not recommended for human consumption
I grew up listening to Dot Dot Curve, and all manner of MySpace artists. I would browse the web and discover new artists with a drastically new sound all the time. At the time, this album was one of my guiltier pleasures. While the band has evolved massively since MySpace days, their debut was entirely basic. Clearly taking notes on the messiness of Brokencyde’s debut, Dot Dot Curve promoted their dinky two men/mics group with fashion and sparkle glitter banners until their bombastic crunkcore received attention. MySpace era was a time when music artists could be easily discovered, and the fact this band ever played these starter kit hip-hop beats live (while screaming bloody murder) is testament to that fact.
One YouTube video calls Dot Dot Curve a dollar store Brokencyde, and in this case, is completely true. The music involves extremely simplistic beats/synths, auto-tune to smother singing, and ear grating screams. They make their style work by basically talking *** the entire time over repetitive, memorable phrases. But they don’t just talk, oh no, they insert screams from every angle at all times in a sinister crossfire. Information overload is deployed as though a military tactic. There isn’t much time to ponder what’s going on as the next zany bit of drunken yelling pops up and immediately starts bashing ear drums with a hammer.
Juvenile or punk, there’s certainly a lot of attitude. Repeatedly screaming at people to lick their nuts is both funny and cringe inducing. The intro sets the table rudely, where they bully people for buying their album, calling them a faggot and such things. That part didn’t age so well, but Dot Dot Curve don’t care about your feelings, they make noise and demand that their dicks be sucked. It is what it is.
While the beats are well put together, the album comes across as a desperate attempt to be as cool as Brokencyde. It’s brazen crunkcore as you’d expect, but those unfamiliar with the genre might assume their speakers are dying. That’s because Dot Dot Curve are not as slick as Brokencyde. Nowadays their music is actually quite well produced, but this album is a product of its time, when anything and everything was good to go. If it was possible to make, it was music, no matter how loosely. As much as their attitude is super edgy dude, some of the better moments in the album are when they shut up for a second and take time on their craft. A few more melodies would’ve gone a long way.
In the end, despite the lack of digestible material, the energy of the band wins the day. It’s impossible to look away from: a cataclysmic eruption of non-caring noise designed to mosh to, and that’s it. *** your feelings, get down and boogy to some catchy beats, and get crunk. Do it in any order that you like as long as you get crunk. This stuff will be shoved in your stomach, and you’ll just have to cope.
