Back in June of 2002 the Dillinger Four released what I feel was one of the most under rated albums of the year. ‘Situationist Comedy’ was in my opinion a masterpiece of how to make unadulterated, dirty, classy punk rock, but alas it went relatively un-noticed in a bulging summer scene. The album opened my eyes to the four piece and gave me the kick up the arse I needed to check out earlier stuff, and that is how I came across ‘This Shit is Genius’, a collection of old songs from splits, 7″ and compilations which may not of seen the light of day to the masses.
Quite often these type of releases can fall flat and only really appeal to the hardcore fan of ‘Band X’ and unfortunately this is no different. The band play no frills loud punk rock, with the brash vocals often drowned in a sea of guitars and drums which in itself is no bad thing, but it can be difficult for the outsider. Take ‘Smells like OK Soda’ as a perfect example of the D4’s style as the song covers the subject of corporate advertising but does so in such a way you can’t help but raise a wry smile and manages to arguably win track of the album. The first real foray into an upbeat number comes along with ‘Unemployed’ which maintains a speedy and pacy tempo throughout while ‘One Trick Pony’ covers the fakeness of scenes, and considering it was wrote and recorded back in 1995, it is eerily true of a certain scene beginning with E and ending with O today.
‘Open and Shut’ and ‘I coulda been a Contender’ are the first real letdowns as neither fail to ignite any great interest but luckily they are sandwiched between a cover of the Pogues ‘Sally Maclennane’ which is pretty fucking awesome and I feel utterly disgusted with myself it has taken me 6 years to hear it. Bang it on at a party and see what I mean. ‘Hi-Pro Glow’ is in a similar vein to ‘One Trick Pony’ but loses none of its charm as it churns out chugging riff after riff while slowly building before a storming intro brings us into ‘Two Cents’ and the pressure doesn’t let up a bit. ‘Hes a Shithead’ and ‘Holy Shit’ both hold their own amongst the stronger tracks and the album is rounded off with ‘BITETHECURBBITETHECURB’ which is perfect in showcasing the duel vocals and final effort ‘Inquiring Minds should read a Book’ caps it all off nicely in anthemic fashion.
Without doubt any self respecting punk fan should own at least one D4 album, they possess all you need for a decent punk band and then some. The vocals of Patrick and Erik complement the songs well and the music is brimming with an honest passion which they convey so well. They may not be the easiest band to get into, but fuck it, I wouldn’t want them to change for the world. This may not be their best piece of work (it is only an assortment of songs from comps, etc after all) but it is worth looking into if you even have a vague interest in quartet.
Jay