A mid-tempo groove welde to smooth natural vocals and the abiliy to strap on the big kick drum/cowbell when the proceedings start to bog down (not too often).
While never straying from the formula of pop punk, Fanmail delivers the goods with such vitality and perfection, you almost forget you’ve heard it all before.
Ignorance is Bliss has all the elements fans around the world have come to know and love from the band, but it also illuminates a higher level of songwriting.
While this record unquestionably sounds good and has some cool-sounding guitar riffs, there isn’t really anything here that sticks after a couple of listens.
The screaming’s urgent, the music’s complex and involved, the playing’s refreshingly unpredictable but still powerful. Eyelid pulls out some intense emotions.
Engine idles too closely to Alder’s prog rock background, and when they get “dark and heavy,” they sound like heavy-for-heavy’s-sake riffs Filter woulda tossed.
Dave Smalley’s been around, sung for bands you oughtta know, has a master’s degree in political science, and he wants to tell us about the state of the world.
With healthy doses of funk, soul, passionate ballads, and driving rock (often with three-ways raps), Dispatch is a band to catch live and blast at parties until the cops show up.