Ah, how sweet it is to be dirty. Dirty Sweet, that is. A gruff band from San Diego bringing back the sounds of old....formed in only '03. "You're dirty and sweet, clad in black, don't look back and I love you." Remember that line from T-Rex's "Bang a Gong?" Listening to the Sweet boys rock brings the musical evolution back about 35 years to a time when giants roamed. The Stones, Aerosmith, and well, T-Rex.
Their debut album, ...Of Monarchs and Beggars, is 10 songs of pure bliss. Not the typical 3-4 min. radio friendly songs of today, DS cuts fast grooves with wailing vocals. They look like they were ripped out of 1970-something. They sound like they were ripped out of 1970-something. Thank God they're here.
Starting out with a plea, "Baby Come Home," Monarchs and Beggars rocks. Ryan Koontz, the lead singer, wails away with a great rhythm section in the form of Shaun Cornell (bass and keys) and Chris Mendez-Vanacore on the skins. Nathan Beale and Mark Murino chop riffs back and forth.
"Delilah" is an ode to the ex-lady friend who takes everything, but, the guy needs his favorite blue jeans. This song needs to be in a jeans commercial. I don't know how it's not. It's also my favorite tune on the album.
A few more songs down the line, "Long Line Down" proves that just like fellow rockers, Jet, proves that they can not only throw it down hard and fast, but slow it down, nice and easy.
"Born to Bleed" gets right back into what Dirty Sweet does best. Rock. Put the top town, and the volume up. It's clear these boys know what they're doing. Of course, it doesn't hurt that this tune was nominated for best "Rock Song" in San Diego. Naturally, they took home "Best Rock Band" for the second straight year, I smell a dynasty, and "Best Rock Album of the Year." '07 was a good year.
It's clear that the UK knows its shit when it comes to good music. While the rockers may not feel quite warm in the waters of American music, much like their inspiration before, the Beatles, they'll be looking to strike it big in the UK. Heading to the UK in just days, '08 looks to prove to be bigger for Dirty Sweet.
No comments:
Post a Comment