Review Summary: The triumphant return of Minneapolis' finest - some of the finest pop-punk you'll hear all year.
First things first, I'm going to take a leaf out of a fellow Sputnik-er's book, and kick off this review with a recipe:
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups Bisquick baking mix
3 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp sugar for the biscuits, 1/2 cup of sugar for the strawberries
3 baskets of fresh strawberries
whipping cream
vanilla
Remove the stems from the strawberries. Slice into thin (1/8") slices. Put into a large bowl. Add 1 Tablespoon of sugar, mix into the strawberries. Set aside at room temperature to macerate (which means that the sugar will soften the straweberries and help release their juices).
Heat oven to 425°F. Stir baking mix, melted butter, milk, and 3 Tbsp of sugar in a mixing bowl until soft dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls on to a greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
After the strawberries have been sitting for 20 minutes or so, take a potato masher and mash them a little. Mash, don't "mosh", just enough to get more juice out of them.
Whip cream, adding a drop or two of vanilla and a teaspoon of sugar.
To serve, break up one biscuit per person into big pieces into a bowl. Ladle strawberries over the biscuit, then fart in an envelope and mail it to your mom.
So why, I hear you ask, have I put a seemingly random dessert recipe at the top of my review? Am I trying to rip of Jom's review of
The Defaced? Certainly not. Am I trying to help incite some kind of Sputnik-wide cookoff? ...Maybe a little. But the main reason it's there is because that recipe (a slightly truncated version of their sole MySpace blog) constitutes the entirety of
Dillinger Four's creative output since the release of
Situationist Comedy back in 2002. Seriously. It's been six whole years since their last album, and it's not even like they've spent those six years writing songs (come on, they might be suitably beardy, but they're not a prog-rock band!), as guitarist/vocalist Erik Funk recently admitted in an interview that the entirety of
C I V I L W A R was written in the last year or so!
So, the Guns'N'Roses of midwestern pop-punk have returned with their
Chinese Democracy, but is it really the life-changing opus that certain internet communities have built it up to be, or is it merely an overhyped bag of left-handed, cross-eyed cat-wank? Well, it's certainly apparent from opener "A Jingle for the Product" that all the staples of a good D4 record are present and correct - the song, like most on the album opens with a strange and quite humorous soundbite, continues at a fairly jaunty tempo, featuring Erik's crackly, nasal (and yet somehow not whiny or annoying) vocal delivery, Paddy's usual rumbling basslines, and of course huge, catchy melodies, replete with a few "whoa"s for good measure. Hell, we even get the added bonus of some nice guitar harmonies in the bridge and a mini-solo at the end! However, one difference that's immediately obvious here is the production job. The problem which plagued
Situationist Comedy, whereby the vocals were often buried somewhat under a wall of guitars, has been completely eradicated here with the mix being far clearer than ever before. This newfound clarity brings the huge melodies to the fore incredibly effectively - just check out the huge choruses in the likes of "Contemplate This on the Tree of Woe" and "Ode to the North American Snake Oil Distributor." Admittedly, this clearer production does mean that the record lacks some of the rough punch that
Versus God and
Midwestern Songs of the Americas packed, but it's a fair trade-off, and one you'll barely care to notice once those huge hooks lodge themselves in your head.
It should be said that the whole band have really stepped up their game here. Wisely, they've left most of the singing to Erik, the better of the band's two vocalists and, as you might expect, his ability to hold a tune has only improved over time. However in the few occasions where Paddy contributes lead vocals it's obvious his bullish approach has given way slightly to a greater melodic ability - "Fruity Pebbles" is a cracking Paddy-led number, an album highlight, and a nice change of pace, operating several BPM lower than the band are usually known for. Erik and Billy's guitar playing has veered into a little more imaginative territory this time around, peppering their usual powerchord-driven affair with a few more solos and lead parts than you might expect, and the way the opening riff of "A Pyre Laid for Image and Frame" transitions from creepy to cheery is genius.
Above all though, the band's songwriting has come on in leaps and bounds. Yes, they might have mellowed out a little over time, but there are few songs in their previous discography that willbury themselves so deeply in your subconscious as the vast majority of C I V I L W A R. "Gainesville" (the band's ode to the town's annual punk rock gathering, The Fest) in particular deserves a special mention, as it's quite possibly the finest song Dillinger Four have ever put to tape, and sure to be a live favourite with its huge capacity for crowd singalongs. However, rather than try to list favourites, I could simply point you to the tracklist at the top of the page for a comprehensive list - really and truthfully, there's not a single dud to be found here. Take this remarkable consistency and quality, and throw in some cover art that brings to mind a particularly awesome episode of Futurama, and you've got one of the best punk rock albums of the year, and one hell of a comeback. And that sure beats the hell out of strawberry shortcake!
This Message Edited On 10.08.08
