Dikembe are so good, but you know that already. The indie-rock/emo/grunge/whatever 4-piece hailing from the birthplace of Fest, exploded into everyone’s ears with ‘Chicago Bowls’ all the way back in 2011 and since then they’ve released two incredible records as well as a number of stellar splits with bands like Pet Symmetry, The Jazz June, You Blew It!, Marietta, the list goes on. Basically, what I’m trying to say is: this band rule. ‘Ledge’, their latest EP, continues their tradition of writing some of the best, most catchy, fun songs.
‘Ledge’ kicks in with a four count and we’re off with ‘Worst In The Fury’ and it is unmistakeably Dikembe. This band hasn’t ever put out a bad song. This song starts off so lounge-y with vocalist/guitarist Steven Gray’s vocals sitting perfectly on top of the arrangement behind him – you feel like you’re sitting in some smooth-as-hell jazz bar. This is so far from ‘Chicago Bowls’, but it’s so great. The bass rolls nicely through the back and is perfectly in time with the drummer – these guys are unsung heroes, man. They keep it so tight and it’s so important and crucial for what Dikembe are doing to have that ultra-tight rhythm section sitting on the groove like they do.
‘Surfed In The Loft’ follows up and we’re greeted with Gray’s unique voice. Once the song kicks in, the two guitars just loop their parts, it’s simple but it works insanely well. There’s a bit in the bridge where all the instruments fall out and there’s a double kick-drum hit, if you don’t grin every time that happens, then you, my friend, are a dummy. The song drops into off-beat drumming for the conclusion, whilst the guitars pick back up on their looping parts and play us out. This band, man.
There’s an amazing build-up in ‘Teeth In The Sink’ when Gray sings “I get restless” before it kicks back in and you get chills and the guitar wails as if Ryan Willems (guitar) is standing on top of a mountain with wind and snow swirling around him before he drops to his knees. ‘Guts In The Brush’ rounds off ‘Ledge’ in a perfect way, there’s such a sweet flow to the song and the riff over the chorus will be in your head for days and that drumming, THAT DRUMMING, behind it is just so wild and extravagant without ever seeming out of place.
Dikembe are a special band. This EP isn’t over the top, it’s not showy, there isn’t any huge, epic endings. It’s better than that, Dikembe are smarter than that. They create these beautiful textures that are so impressive and so varied and it makes the whole thing sound so cohesive and so huge. That’s a really hard thing to do with anything, let alone a short 4-song EP. These guys are hitting it. Try catch them if you can before they realise they’re better than everyone and stop gracing us with their presence.
CONOR MACKIE