We Have You Surrounded by The Dirtbombs
reviewed by: pat
I saw the Dirtbombs play a few months ago, when they were just touring for the sake of touring, and they put on a really excellent show. They played a long set comprised of stuff from all over their career, they were loud and tight, Mick sounded great, basically it was everything one should expect going into a Dirtbombs show, at least some one who is of the (correct) opinion that the band did not start sucking after Ultraglide in Black. During this show, they debuted a couple of songs from what they said was their forthcoming album. I was surprised! For some reason, the thought that there was actually gonna be another Dirtbombs album had never really crossed my mind. I mean, I had heard the same bit about how they were gonna do a “bubblegum” record, but by that time I had long given up on taking that seriously. So anyway, they started playing the songs and I remember having generally positive feelings about them but they didn’t leave an impression. Also, they definitely weren’t bubblegum.
Which is basically my thoughts on about half of the tracks on We Have You Surrounded, minus the “generally positive” part. Ouch. I didn’t mean that to be as harsh as it reads. The only song on this record that I think is outright bad is “Wreck My Flow”, and that’s mostly because of the cheesy lyrics and delivery. I kinda feel that same way “Pretty Princess Day” too, except that song really hooky and the chorus is awesome. But whatever. I don’t mean to say that half of the album is as bad as those tracks. It’s just a lot of obvious filler, kinda cold, even soulless. Take the by-the-numbers pop-funk workout of “Indivisible.” It bounces along harmlessly on some gimmicky back-up vocals and a boring bassline and not much else. And am I really supposed to give a fuck about the feedback noodle-fest that is “Race to the Bottom”? I never took the Dirtbombs for pasta chefs, and I was right in that. They’re not. Gimme tight tunes.
And that’s exactly what they do for the rest of the album, which is really very good. It’s funny and slightly discouraging that some of the very best moments on the record are covers, but it’s understandable. Dirtbombs have, obviously, always excelled at covers. Their renditions of “Sherlock Holmes” and “Fire in the Western World” are actually relatively faithful, the former being a sort of widescreen version of the Sparks’ original (two drummers will do that) and the latter having more of a “military march” feel than Dead Moon probably ever intended. “It’s Not Fun Until They See You Cry” is a perfect record opener, and “Leopardman at C&A”, which features “lyrics” by Alan Moore, is great too. The real stunner here, though, is “Ever Lovin’ Man”, which is classic Dirtbombs. It almost feels too classic, which some people might take issue over, but whatever. It features Mick sounding as impassioned as ever on vocals, and that’s what I really need from the Dirtbombs. I wish there were a few more moments like that on We Have You Surrounded. Whew! This review sounds very negative! I don’t mean it to. I still think the Dirtbombs are a great band and have more great records up their sleeves. I just think they had some stuff to work out here. They try a lot on this one. Some of it works, some doesn’t, and I appreciate the effort!
play: m/h