“Its art Jim, but not as we know it.†If Dillinger Four existed in the Star Trek universe then a certain Doctor would surely utter these words. However, thankfully for us, they do not. With two acclaimed albums behind them, D4 are back with ‘Situationist Comedy’, their first release on Fat.
D4, hail from the American mid-west, and, like a great many bands, began life by playing in a basement. They are anything but your usual punk band as a quick profile of the band members proves. Erik runs a bar, Billy does everything, Paddy whores himself around as many bands as possible and Lance has a Ph.D. in psychology. In fact, D4 are just what punk rock needs at the minute. A band who write from the heart, with angry songs that are also as catchy as hell. They play punk rock their way, and that is incredibly refreshing.
The great paradox about D4 is that they have managed to create a unique sound, without having one true sound of their own. Imagine throwing a number of your favourite punk bands into a fire. The resultant explosion would be the entity that is D4, managing to combine anger, fury, melody, speed and subtlety to great effect.
‘Situationist Comedy’ is a work of “art†from start to finish, due to the very high standard maintained throughout. It opens with a wall of noise on ‘Noble Stabbings’. It is quite a poppy track, but is very fast and melodic. The next track, the superbly titled ‘A Floater Left With Pleasure In The Executive Washroom’, is a definite album highlight. The fury of the verses makes you want to bang your fists on the nearest inanimate object, whereas the boisterous chorus makes you want to jump around like a madman.
One fact that is very evident from the album is the benefit of having three vocalists with contrasting vocal styles. This allows the band to play around with different styles of song with ease. From the heaviness and anger of ‘The Father, The Son, And The Homosexual/Single Parent’ to the speed and melody of ‘Fired-Side Chat’ the band sound right at home with the differing styles.
‘“I Was Born On A Pirate Ship!â€(holdyourtongue)’ sees the band in more rock orientated territory with a superb guitar riff that will be in your head when you’re trying to sleep at night. The tongue-twistingly titled ‘SELLTHEHOUSESELL…'(It’s too long to write now) is another album highlight, very catchy and featuring a superb chorus.
The album is rounded off in style with ‘New Punk Fashions For The Spring Formal’. It begins bizarrely with a Robot voiced intro, and then explodes into a perfect slice of punk rock. If there is a criticism to make of the album it is that sometimes the vocals are too low in the mix and detract from certain songs. However, this isn’t too much of a problem. Just turn up your stereo and let you neighbours enjoy D4 as well!
‘Sitautionist Comedy’ is a breath of fresh air in a punk rock market over-saturated with pop punk clones (probably something to do with Jango Fett). It may take you a couple of listens to get into, but is well worth persevering with. It is an album full of quality songs and is one of the best pieces of work I have heard this year. It mixes a number of styles to great effect, proving D4 will never be tied to one genre. It is about time D4’s “art’ was heard by a wider audience, and this could be the album to do it.
Mark