Minority of One,
Dag Nasty2002 hasn’t been a year littered with punk rock classics. Without doubt certain releases have been very impressive, but save the odd effort there hasn’t been much to get the heart racing. However, all that is about to change. In terms of anticipation one album stands head and shoulders above everything else this year. Ladies and Gentlemen, this is ‘Minority of One’, Dag Nasty’s first release for a decade. If the thought of a new album by these legends doesn’t get you excited then nothing will.
The importance of this band should not be underestimated, with many of today’s groups citing punk veterans Dag Nasty as a major influence. With ‘Minority of One’ the band are back with the original line up, responsible for the superb ‘Can I Say’. As such we are treated to an all-star cast; Dave Smalley of Down By Law, Brian Baker from a little band called Bad Religion, Colin Sears who was the original Fugazi drummer and Roger Marbury of The Bloodbats. During their brief period as a group in the 80’s Dag Nasty were responsible for a number of classic releases. Their last attempt at a comeback wasn’t well received (92’s ‘Four on the Floor’ EP) but with this album the band have picked up were they left off in 88 and added a wealth of subsequently gained song writing experience.
‘Minority of One’ kicks off with the superb ‘Ghost’, a fantastic slice of melodic hardcore, with Smalley’s voice in fine form and Baker performing heroics on the guitar. It is a song about times long gone as Smalley sings “everything I do, everywhere I go / I see a memory of what we used to know”. The title track follows and you begin to realise that this is quite a special release. Again, the track is very infectious and sees the band in full swing. ‘Bottle This’ raises the tempo another notch, with its aggressive pounding nature and standout guitar riffs.
However, as fitting of any great band, Dag Nasty are equally comfortable when they slow things down. ‘Twisting Again’ and the heartfelt ‘Broken Days’ are probably the best example of this talent. On ‘Average Man’, however, the band manage to combine all sorts of styles into what is an unpredictable and brilliant track, a fact that sums the band up perfectly. The album is wrapped up with the simple and melodic ‘Wasting Away’ and a bonus cover of ‘100 punks’.
With ‘Minority of One’, Dag Nasty have produced one of the best albums you will hear this year. It isn’t original and it probably isn’t the best record the band have released, but it takes all that was good about their previous releases and puts a contemporary spin on it. This album has a wealth of experience behind it and that fact shines through in the song writing. You would be hard pressed to find a better-written collection of melodic punk songs. With all the rubbish currently passing for punk rock we should be thankful that Dag Nasty have managed to get into a studio again. ‘Minority of One’ is an album that will make a lot of old punks very happy and hopefully educate a number of younger ones as well.
Mark
