Dr. Dude - Ykaro - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The eponymous 4th album for California pop punks The Dollyrots, originally released through Sony/RED and now ready for reissue. Considered the band's most pop-friendly album to date, this effort marked a departure for the female-led duo after two albums through Joan Jett's Blackheart Records adding layers and synthesizers to the buzzsaw guitars and punk beats heard on previous releases. Produced by John Fields (Switchfoot, Jimmy Eat World, Demi Lovato), standout tracks include InchSatelliteInch, InchTwist Me to the LeftInch, and a 2012 version of the hit InchBecause I'm AwesomeInch.

There are two ways things can fall, says Dude York's Claire England. InchThey can fall and be ruined, or they can fall gently like a feather and be fine.Inch On Falling, their second full-length for Hardly Art, the Seattle trio explores that sentiment-evoked by the broken cake on the album cover and the soft confetti on the inside sleeve-through impossibly catchy and emotive songs that investigate the ways you can fall in and out of relationships, and sometimes fall back together. Recorded at Different Fur Studios in San Francisco with producer Patrick Brown, Falling finds Dude York sounding bigger and more fully-realized than ever with hits that would feel perfectly at home sandwiched between Jimmy Eat World and Third Eye Blind in early 2000s alt-rock radio rotation, while somehow still sounding utterly their own. Peter Richards (guitar) and England (bass) share equal songwriting and lead vocal duties on this record, a significant change from their previous album, 2017's Sincerely, on which England fronted only two songs. The duality of their songwriting and vocals compliment each other emotionally and sonically, with Andrew Hall's harmonies and driving drums providing their own unique character in each song. The collaboration is clear-each part is carefully crafted, with Richards' guitar adding texture to the verses and then soaring into the particularly special kind of guitar solos that make you want to sing along. The production on Falling is full of meticulous details and sonic tricks designed to hit that deep teenage place in your heart, whether it's the dense, chugging guitars or impeccably-placed harmonies. InchWe all have very different reference points for music and then when we swap them in becomes something totally different,Inch says Richards. He didn't grow up as attached to the radio-friendly emo music that defined the adolescence of the rest of the ban

The Seattle-based trio Dude York-Peter Richards on guitar and vocals, Claire England on bass and vocals, and Andrew Hall on drums-is announcing itself with an album that couches it's themes of anxiety and eroding mental health in rock tracks that amp up the sweetly melodic crunch of power pop with massive distortion and bashed-to-heck drums. Sincerely is a loud, sweaty rebuke to those moments in life when it seems like nothing is working, a testament to the power of friendship, staring problems directly in the face, and finding solace in art. Longtime Sleater-Kinney and Bikini Kill producer John Goodmanson and The Blood Brothers' Cody Votolato helped Dude York craft a more straightforward draft of Sincerely, one based on the energy of their live show but without any superfluous flourishes. The band's thoughtful approach to putting together Sincerely's songs echoes the album's overarching themes of almost-punishing inward focus.