Dirty Revolution is a Rebel Alliance band.
This simple statement may very well be the best way to sum up this Cardiff quartet. Like labelmates Sonic Boom Six, Random Hand, Mouthwash and The Skints, Dirty Revolution is all about mixing things up. Debut album ‘Before the Fire’ is a vibrant blend of reggae, ska and punk, all collected together with a quaint and relaxed charm.
The opening half of the album is made up mostly of redux versions of tracks that appeared on 2008’s ‘It’s Gonna Get Dirty’ EP. Whilst this takes some of the surprise element out of play, these are no mere rehashes. Under the tutelage of producer Peter Miles, the band has given each song a new lease on life, beefing out instrumentation and layers. There’re now a lot of nuances to prick the ear (the Hammond organ on ‘I Love Reggae’ alone is fantastic) as well as a generally richer sound. Listen to this version of live favourite ’50p’ and the old version becomes a real plodder. When a band gets the opportunity to re-record songs, this is what they should sound like: shiny and new.
The new songs on the album go a long way to exhibiting how far the band has come over the past year or so. ‘Sometimes You’re Too Rude’, ‘Why Should I Care?’ and ‘System’ are up tempo numbers, balancing ska upstrokes with punky riffs and clap alongs. ‘Church’ is an upstroke-filled aggressive number complete with sing along agro chorus, whilst ‘Years and Years’ is a longer, more deliberate dub number. But it’s ‘Firing Line’ that truly sticks out, a soulful number that brings to mind Louis Armstrong as much as any influence. It’s a genteel number that may well be the best track the band has ever penned.
Theme wise it’s familiar ground for Dirty Revolution. This collection focuses on peace, love and unity in aspects of politics and general day-to-day dealings. What’s key though is it isn’t overly preachy (“If I wanted to be preached at I could go back to church,” the band sings) or wantonly aggressive. It’s simply laid back, questioning but easy going. It’s a style easily suited to the reggae vibes and the vocal delivery of singer Reb Sutton, who whilst having an obvious fire in the belly tends to be best when more mellow (see ‘Firing Line’ above). Actually, for first time listeners it’s easy to see Sutton’s vocals taking a little getting used to in the same way that some struggle with SB6’s Laila K, being that it’s not the expected sound of a female singer. But there in lies part of the appeal. Add to this the additional vocals of guitarist Stu White (one of the drawbacks of the album is that he isn’t utilised to the front more) and you have a dynamic sound that is more than a little appealing.
In essence ‘Before the Fire’ sits upon a precipice, reggae ska to one side and punk rock to the other. The balance is certainly teetering towards the Jamaican flavour but there’s a definite accessibility here. Ultimately this is the sound of a young band with an impressive vision that, whilst being a little rough around the edges at times, is definitely vital. As far as debut records go, this is impressive stuff.
Alex