January 22, 2011

The Dirtbombs - Party Store (2011)

There is something different about The Dirtbombs that is hard to put a finger on. At first listen I thought I didn't like Party Store that much. Some of their songs took way too long for the vocals to come in, some were purely instrumental making it hard to get into, and one song was 21 minutes long. They have a very uptempo sound, which makes for an odd mix when you add the blunt and gritty guitar with rustic vocals (which are really good by the way). However, after a few listens through, a number of tracks stand out as very good. "Shari Vari" for example. This track reminds me of something that would be played at some underground exclusive NYC nightclub. Some place where everyone is a big deal and ridiculously skinny, and there is way too much blacklight, cigarette smoke and coke permeating the room. "The Good Life" is also a fantastic song, which really embodies what this album is all about. It opens very strangely with some kind of odd, almost nursery rhyme in the beginning. Then the song starts and I have to catch myself diggin' on the groove as I almost missed it completely. The Dirtbombs are very extraordinary in that I can't tell if this supposed to be happy clubbin' dance music, or mellow out on the bluesy guitar and voice of Mick Collins sort of deal. So if you don't dig it right away I understand, this is the kind of album you have to listen to a few times to like. Most experimental and unique sounds are like that.

8 Comments:

awmercy said...

I can't wait to listen to this album.

awmercy said...

Also, no songs should ever be 21 minutes.

Can anyone name 5 good 20 minute songs?

I am already vetoing "Mountain Jam".

Brasilliant said...

I'm pretty sure there's several Led Zepplin songs out there that are more than 20 minutes long, which naturally means they're bad.

Nightrain said...

Are we also excluding (a) live versions, (b) classical music, and (c) world music?

Nightrain said...

I've got one: "Echoes" by Pink Floyd.

That's all I got.

Great review by the way. Amazing turnaround.

sandenuts said...

I'm gonna throw out "Sister Ray" by the Velvet Underground. It is 17 minutes which isn't 20, but I love that fuckin song.

awmercy said...

Good call on "Sister Ray".

awmercy said...

I tried but could not finish "Bug In The Bassbin."