At this point, I’m honestly not sure why I allow the Callous Daoboys to surprise me. Celebrity Therapist had set up the Georgia-based mathcore group as the true worthy successor to the legendary Dillinger Escape Plan… and the Daoboys did everything in their power to avoid making a straight repeat of that album. Between pushes towards a more mainstream sound with “Waco Jesus” to… well, whatever the hell you want to classify the lead singles from their upcoming album, I Don’t Want to See You in Heaven, as, the Daoboys have been doing their best to drill into our heads that we should expect the unexpected. But this might be their most shocking left turn yet: the Callous Daoboys wrote a straight-up pop song.

No, seriously, Lemon lacks pretty much all of the prevailing weirdness that had defined the band’s past work, being driven almost entirely by a simplistic drumbeat and, of all things, clean guitars! Even when the electric guitars do surge to the forefront in the final chorus, it feels less chaotic and far more triumphant, like a natural climax to the song. Nowhere will you find Carson Pace’s signature manic vocals, only a more restrained singing performance that allows him to show off some more emotional rage aside from pissed off. The weirdest part about all of this is that, despite being such a steep departure from anything the Daoboys have done before, “Lemon” just works. The vocals are great, the melodies are catchy, and there still is a smidgen of familiar Daoboys magic to hang onto, found in Carson Pace’s signature, borderline stream-of-consciousness lyricism. You wouldn’t expect the best single from I Don’t Want to See You to be the most atypical song, but, like I said, the Daoboys are masters of making you expect the unexpected.

Sputnik Singles #19

4/5

1. Blut Aus Nord – “That Cannot Be Dreamed” (3.9)
2. Regina Spektor – “Becoming All Alone” (3.9)
3. The Wonder Years – “Oldest Daughter” (3.7)
4. Yeule – “Too Dead Inside” (3.5)
5. Arcade Fire – “The Lightning I, II” (3.2)
6. Phoebe Bridgers – “Sidelines” (3.1)
7. Bad Omens – “Like A Villain” (2.8)
8. Disturbed – “I Will Not Break” (2.6)
9. Muse – “Won’t Stand Down” (2.5)
10. Red Hot Chili Peppers – “Black Summer” (2.3)
11. Avril Lavigne – “Bite Me” (2.3)
12. Weezer – “A Little Bit of Love” (2.3)
13. Shinedown – “Planet Zero” (2.2)
14. Grimes – “Shinigami Eyes” (1.9)
15. Daine – “Boythots” (2.7)
16. Orgy – “Empty” (1.6)
17. Grimes – “I Wanna Be Software” (1.5)
18. Guns N’ Roses – “The General” (1.4)