THIS was the track I wish I’d posted the last time. But alas, it only came into my possession two days after that post. Sorry, B.
A general rule I live by is that anything involving J. Robbins is worth a listen. He hits a sweet spot pretty much every time, always with an emphasis on crunch and melody. You can pretty much always identify one of his songs if you encounter it in passing. In recent years, he’s expanded his palette a bit—whether this has anything to do with the remnants of emo going away or the DC-Baltimore axis mutating is almost beside the point; it’s still quite nice to see a guy change things up.
So that’s where Dope Body comes in. I read a description of the band as “sludge-punk” and another as “bro-rock,” neither of which I’d normally associate with Robbins. What I love about this track—and the great majority of their new Robbins-produced album—is that he uses his sound as a base to build on, not the end result. So above his trademark ADD bass is a pummeling drum, throaty growl and skull-rattling guitar. And a semi-automatic cowbell. Above all, the melody is still vital, even if it’s pleasingly menacing. Hopefully this volume doesn’t veer into screamo territory, but if we do, at least I had a good time getting there.
m. joosse
Never Ending Internet Mix Tape 