- Label: 'Six Tonnes De Chair'
- Genre: 'Punk/New Wave'
- Release Date: '5th May 2023'
Our Rating:
Dez Dare’s bio is an interesting one which packs a lot info on a life spent in music. Dez (aka Darren Smallman of BATTLE WORLDWIDE, Low Transit Industries, Thee Vinyl Creatures, The Sound Platform, Warped) grew up in Geelong, a port city located on Corio Bay and the Barwon River, in the state of Victoria, Australia where he became involved in the local punk and rock scene in 1990, playing in a band called Warped, sharing stages with the likes of Bored!, The 5678s, Fugazi, The Dirty Three and the Hard-ons, going on to play in multiple bands spewing out sludgy punk rock, drone riffage and noisy pop abundance. Darren was embedded in the scene, playing music, running labels (founding record label and touring company Low Transit Industries in 1999 working with bands such as The Essex Green, Lilys, Elf Power, Okkervil River, Of Montreal, Black Mountain, Trans Am) before moving to the UK in 2010 where he has operated ever since.
I’m fascinated by the sheer number of artists who’ve done so much, been on the fringes around internationally-renowned acts, and yet remain largely unknown. They bare, of course, the absolute lifeblood of music: the household names and those who dominate charts and Spotify account for maybe 5% of all the music being made, and it’s rarely the good 5% either.
As Dez is keen to point out there is something exciting about a 7” EP, at least for those of us who grew up with vinyl – and I don’t mean heavyweight deluxe reissues. I mean when you could pick up a 7” EP for quid or two in Woolworths or Andy’s Records, or, if it was a touring band flogging merch, you could hand over £2.50 and get something you simply couldn’t find in the shops.
‘Critical Mind Dump’ feels like one of those merch-table pickups, despite of course being sold online.
It’s a cracking blast of lo-fi guitar-driven alt-rock, which feels incredibly DIY. The production is barely more than four-track standard, and while it’s clearly been recorded with more channels, there are still some wonky notes kicking about. That’s part of the appeal, of course: it’s rough and ready in a way you rarely hear nowadays.
‘Phase Transitions; is a mere 37 seconds long, and sounds like early Wire – and that’s a fair reference point for thee other tracks, too. ‘Critical Mind Dump’ is fizzing with post-punk energy and packs an old-school, vibe that’s rare nowadays. It’s not slick, and it’s all the better for it, because it’s raw, immediate, real.
