Band : Dillinger Four
Album title : Civil War
Label : Fat Wreck Chords
Distributor : Sonic Rendezvous
Release date : 14/10/2008
Release : CD

It’s been 6 years since Melodic Punk Rock act Dillinger Four’s last studio album [the band’s 2002 Fat Wreck Chords debut Situationalist Comedy followed 1998 debut album Midwestern Songs Of The Americas (which itself was followed up by This Shit Is Genius, a THD Records issued 1999 sampler of songs from the band’s three 7-inch EPs, compilation albums contributions, and split-EP with The Strike…and a 2000 split-EP with Pinhead Gunpowder issued on the small Adeline imprint)and 2000’s sophomore album Versus God –both issued through Hopeless] and although the Minneapolis based band’s fans did get the 2003 Dillinger Four Live At First Avenue and saw the band featured with a previously unreleased track on a couple of compilation albums since (the most recent being the Rock Against Bush, Vol.2 CD/DVD sampler), they were fearing for the demise of their favourite band!
Perhaps things had to do with individual members of the band also concentrating on other bands (singer/ guitarist Erik Funk’s also in Billingsgate and runs/ is the owner of The Triple Rock Social Club; singer/ guitarist Bill Morrisette is also active in Skooby Don’t and runs the Extreme Noise Records in Minnneapolis; singer/ bassist Patrick Costello‘s other band is called Cleveland Bound Death Sentence) they’re in…or maybe the guys simply took time off as Dillinger Four…but whatever, they’re back now…with a slightly changed line-up, as former guitarist Sloan is no longer with the band (on the other hand, drummer Lane Pederson, who’s a doctor in Clinical Psychology, by the way…still IS).

The nice thing about Dillinger Four, is that they have three singers, whom apparently all get to do the lead vocals once in a while, with one (or two) of the others backing him up. Which makes for some additional variety in the mostly up-tempo played Poppy Punk Rock of the four, as for three of the songs on this album (the piano tune intro-ed “parishiltonisametaphor”, “Minimum Wage Is A Gateway Drug”, and the calmer “Fruity Pebbles”) the lead vocals are done with a husky, hoarse voice (kinda reminded me of the way vocals were alternated by Husker Dü, although the musical background is slightly different, of course; the hoarse vocals return for a bit of shared lead during “Like Eye Contact In An Elevator”). The band uses quite a bit of (short) samples as intros to their songs (6 out of 13 get a sample thrown in). Not being provided with a booklet (I do presume the band had printed its lyrics in there), I can only tell from the info sheet that the sometimes duelling vocalists’ lyrics are apparently full of sharp witticisms (yeah well, I’m one of those people who needs to be able to read lyrics in order not to be lulled away by the music a band plays, see?), which is something which hasn’t changed from the past! The band’s slight musical diversity is apparently another thing that’s not changed, and as the album’s been out a while already (you can blame the delay for this review on our country’s national postal services’ holding the package back for something of over a month’s time).

If, like in my case, this would be your introduction to the band, you can listen to a couple of songs off the new album (as well as songs off 3 other albums) at myspace.com/dillingerfour. If you’re already acquainted with the band, there’s certainly no need for me to tell you what to expect? Apparently we should be able to view the band’s very first music video clip on that same space any time soon (not so when I last looked a couple of days prior to this posting). The band has already started the on-route promotion of their new album, opening procedings with an East Coast tour in support of NOFX, and intends to continue touring well into 2009, on the way making appearances at such noted events as CMJ and SxSW, as well as hitting Japan…and Europe!

88/100

Tony.