Roll the dice on time that’s borrowed!
It’s good to see a band on the up and up, and having reviewed their EP a year ago, the band now release their debut 7-track mini-album (or EP) entitled, ‘Landmine’ on independent label BTTP Records. Coming from Missouri, Dead City Dregs are a band that understand the true grit of Punk Rock, with fiery and blistering guitars, catchy rasping vocals and fast beats. It’s also good to see that whilst this album features all of the songs on the EP plus another 3, the band haven’t fallen into the trap of over production or re-arranging songs like other bands (Toilet Boys please take a bow), so whilst the sound is crisper than their previous EP, it still has balls the size of King Kong.
Title track, ‘Landmine’ starts off the EP/album with it’s fast paced Punk rock in the vein of Rancid with distinctive bass lines, and Bryan’s voice which is what you would get if you mixed the voices of Tim Armstrong with Lars Frederiksen, and believe me that’s a good thing. Next song, ‘End Of The Line’ is a great Punk anthem, with catchy verses and added, “yeah yeah’s!” you can’t go wrong. Lyrically the song goes, “Midnight, at a red light // Frostbite, in a city on fire // The cats eyes, her nine lives // She’s gonna need ‘em all to make it through the night…” it’s a great example of mixing the poetically-streetwise lyrics of Sleaze rock with the jabs and upper cut punches of Street Punk.
‘Dead Air’ pays homage to the radio and how the importance of it seems less relevant in the musical world of today, whilst another of the new songs, ‘Black Days’ starts of with fast melodic guitar riffs, before slipping nicely into the simple but effective chugging that sounds so good in Punk, and it’s worth pointing out that Punk rock is all about messages, and standing up for your rights whilst using music as a vehicle for spreading your ideas, and it’s therefore this reason that intricate musical arrangements is not required within this genre leaving most showboating for the drummers. Next up is the sort sharp Punk shot in the arm that is, ‘Weapons’ and this is what an anthem is all about in my book. Packed with a beat, and guitar riffs that will raise the dead and have you swinging your arm over your air guitar emulating your axe-heroes, it will rock your socks off and smack your bare ass with hysterical joy! Like traditional Punk it has a political message, as the lyrics goes, “Fast lane no destination // Oblivion’s awaiting // Go play your hand with fate & Hope // That there is a kingdom come // Annihilation’s steady pace, there is no separation // it stays it’s course, obliterates // & shapes a baron land…”
The speeded up jig of ‘Goin’ Back’ keeps the tempo high, mixing up Rancid with Left Alone, it’s another Street Punk tune with a Rock’n’Roll edge that is as welcoming and desirable as free tattoos and paying no taxes. Great stuff. This leaves us with the last song, ‘So Long’ which is another of the new songs and has a hint of Time Again about it adding a nice ending to a satisfying EP-cum-mini-album.
Dead City Dregs are a great band. Yes, there are resemblances to bands like Rancid, Time Again, Left Alone and The Casualties, so it would not surprise me if the likes of Hellcat Records or SideOneDummy Records came sniffing around at some point, and let’s face it they could do a lot worse. Street Punk has a huge fan base, and Dead City Dregs are another band panhandling it along nicely to the masses. Good work, fellas!