Review: The Dissonics Expertly Modernize Brit-Pop on Evolver
Blasting out of Bellingham with their new album Evolver (released January 1st, 2016), power pop band The Dissonics has a sound more associated with the north of London than the north of Seattle. Channeling the Kinks, The Small Faces and Oasis, the trio of Jon Memolo on guitar, vocals, and keyboards, Sean Meyer on bass guitar and vocals, and drummer Phil Carter deliver ten new tracks of rocking fun.
Evolver kicks off with the rambling groover “Everybody,” which is simultaneously muscular and tender. The aptly-titled “1971” is straight out of the David Bowie glam rock songbook. “My Woes” mixes swing and grunge together nicely, while the rollicking “Another Day of Love” features jaunty piano from Memolo and a bopping bass line for an infectious stew. The Beatles-esque “Atmospheres” weighs in at a perfect pop song length of 2:50. All is not sunshine and daisies, though, as the minor key piano basher “Killer” digs into the dark places of a man’s soul. Phil Carter flails away doing his best Keith Moon as the power chords chime for the rocking “Someday.”
The sound gets a bit more modern as the trio visits the reverb-laden 80’s brit-pop era for “Lady Shangri la,” and “Die For Something.” The album’s closer “Hold You Down” is a tempo-shifting rocker with some interesting twists and turns. The Dissonics have done their homework, and are at their best when sticking to the fun stuff and leaving the doom and gloom behind.
(You can purchase Evolver via The Dissonics’ Bandcamp page.)
