Welt

Broke Down (Dr. Dream)
by Scott Hefflon

Great album, lousy cover. It’s surprising because Welt usually has cool covers of their green-faced, purple-clad character getting into all kinds of bad situations. But the clip art cover is a terrible representation of the magic music contained within. As practically one of the only bands left/worth squat on the old Dr. Dream, Welt was always a band I wished more people knew so I wouldn’t have to keep answering “Welt” twice when people asked who I was listening to.

With the masterful production of Bill Stevenson and Stephen Egerton, Broke Down combines all the best elements of Welt’s first two records, Better Days and Kicked in the Teeth Again, and takes the songs to a new level of sonic enjoyment. Welt writes personal, dark yet hinting of hope on the horizon lyrics set to catchy, peppy, gritty punkpop. And while comparisons can obviously be drawn to Face to Face, Bad Religion and ALL, there is a reference I never picked up on before: Social Distortion. In the same grand style of tough life, gruff vocals set to driving beats and locomotive guitars, Welt combine drinking, thinking, and looking for something to believe in. Thirty-some-odd minutes of dark, melodic, beautifully-produced punk rock.
(16331 Gothard St. Suite D Huntington Beach, CA 92647)