Review Archive: D

Minority of One  

Although the band members on this album — Dave Smalley, Brian Baker, Roger Marbury and Colin Sears — are 100% Dag Nasty, Minority of One sounds more like a really good Down By Law CD than the guys responsible for Can I Say...which makes sense, since they've grown up a lot since 1986. But there's still plenty of energy and catchy pop-punk on Minority of One. While it probably won't win over any new fans, Smalley fans (like myself) will no doubt enjoy it. Not to mention it's much better than the last Dag Nasty "reunion album" (Four on the Floor).

Grateful  

This CD is one single track — 17 songs all in a row — which is pretty damn annoying. This wouldn't be a problem if every song was worth listening to, but they're really not. Grateful isn't that bad; I liked Proud To Be and I was hoping to like this one as much. But this album is lacking, both in terms of songwriting (I know: this is DFL, not the Beatles) and production (yeah yeah, I know it's punk to sound like shit).

Fixation on a Coworker  

Technical, screamy hardcore filled with anger and hate. Many people flip out over this band but it just doesn't happen for me; they are above average but turn me off. The medium paced songs go off with power and volume — maybe it was just too loud for me? People who enjoyed their "Work Ethic" EP will enjoy this too. Great design and layout on the CD sleeve. [Brian Chapman]

Everything Sucks  

One of my all-time favorite bands are back together and have a new album out...and it made me nervous. I was afraid that this "reunion album" wouldn't be up to par and might actually end up tarnishing the Descendents name. Well, I'm happy to report that Everything Sucks does not disappoint. Although it sounds like the current All lineup (Dave Navetta and Tony Lombardo lend a little hand, too) with Milo on vocals, it's pretty much Descendents like you remember: fast, energetic, and singing about girls and coffee. (Okay, so it's more than that...) The first five songs give you the impression that Everything Sucks is perfect, and even though it isn't (there are a couple sub-par songs, like "Doghouse"), it's pretty close: "I'm the One" and "Sick-O-Me" are future classics; "When I Get Old" is a slower song but still rocks; "Coffee Mug" is a spastic 30-second ode to caffeine in the same ballpark as "Kids"; and don't miss the "hidden" instrumental after the last track. I don't know if Bill, Stephen & Karl were saving material for this album or if working with Milo rejuvinated them, but this is their best stuff since Allroy's Revenge.

Ask Your Mom  

Doc Hopper embodies everything I like in music: fast, powerful pop punk with a sense of humor; they're the best thing to happen to music since Descendents. Factor in their fun live shows and you have a band that's able to kick the ass of anyone played on WBCN. I find it hard to believe that they were actually able to improve on Aloha, but they did in a big way.

Ram Di Dance  

A combination of heavy reggae and traditional ska is what Dr. Ring Ding & the Senior All-Stars serve up. And they're from...Germany? (Yup, and not a hint of Kraftwerk to be found.) And although I tend to shy away from reggae, songs on Ram Di Dance — such as "My Sound", "Call Di Doctor", and the title track — are too catchy not to like. It's easy to hear how their style has been influenced by early ska and reggae artists, and it's some of the best trad-ska you'll hear anywhere. "Call 809", "Song For My Father", "Over the River", and "Bad Company" are some real standouts.

Semi-poppy punk, kind of in the same realm as face to face. I wasn't a big fan of the singer's voice: it's not that it's bad, but I guess after sixteen songs it was rubbing me the wrong way a bit. I did like it more with each listen, but nothing was too memorable. I'd score King Dickley Kool a 5 out of 10: not extraordinary, but good nonetheless.

All Scratched Up!  

DBL is back with another album which, I'm sorry to say, isn't quite as good as their last one, Punkrockacademyfightsong... but then again, that one's pretty hard to beat. And being "Down By Law's second-best album" is still a big compliment. (Well, it's supposed to be, even though it may not sound like it...) The legendary Dave Smalley, DBL's frontman and main songwriter, has pretty much the same band as last time--Sam Williams on guitar, Angry John on bass, and new drummer Danny Westman--so the sound is still the same: fast, hard, fun punk. The topics covered over the course of these 17 new songs range from children growing up in violent countries ("Kevin's Song") to working in the post office ("Post Office Lament"), from their almost making the big-time ("True Music") to their slight dislike of a particular alternative band ("Counting Crows Must Die"). All Scratched Up has more good lyrics and great music you'd expect from DBL, with "All American" pretty much summing up their (and my) philosophy on life: "Gonna grow older but never old."

Last of the Sharpshooters  

The latest Down By Law album has Dave Smalley apparently having a change in his views of the world...and if not a change, at least he's making it clearer what he thinks. Or maybe he's realizing he's part of it and is not merely an observer. In typical Smalley fashion, many of the lyrics have to with the state of the world today ("USA Today", "Guns of '96", "No Equalizer", "Concrete Times"), with some songs dealing with specific topics ("Urban Napalm" was written in response to the L.A. riots, and "Get Out" is a simple command to England to leave Ireland). But I notice an overall theme running throughout Last of the Sharpshooters: a feeling of being forced into the fucked-up real world (possibly helped in part by his new family?), plus accepting the fact that your beliefs and lifestyle of your youth doesn't always translate into adult life. I can see young punks not liking the message in some of these songs (from "Self-Destruction": "Nothing is going to change, you say, and there's no way you'll ever leave this code you follow today... Come see me in 20 years, and I'll show you a host of change."), but those of us "old folks" can appreciate the truth in them. Musically, Last of the Sharpshooters doesn't have any of the quick bursts of aggression found scattered throughout past DBL records, but it's still a strong album (despite one attempt to blend in some reggae, which just isn't pulled off as seamlessly as the Clash did).