I’ll come out and say it: commercial radio sucks. With such a wide variety of music for the world’s listening pleasure, it’s a shame that most of us only get to hear the narrow spectrum of tunes that are screened through to them. Most people never get to hear great bands like The Damnwells.
A rhythmic rock quartet, The Damnwells serve up a strong album with their new release “Bastards of the Beat.” They give a distinctly folky edge to the catchy driving power chords of pop-punk and the angst-filled vocals of today’s alternative rock. And their album has an eclectic and (more importantly) good mix of songs.
Singer/songwriter Alex Dezen leads the band on keyboard and guitar, with ex-Whiskeytown drummer Steven Terry helping out on vocals. Those instruments come together with Ted Hudson’s bass and David Chernis’s guitar to form driving melodies, with harmonic strains of guitar and piano sprinkled over them like the soft foam on your favorite lager.
All the songs share the same forward-driven motion, but that’s not to say that all the songs sound the same. The Damnwells never dwell on one monotonous idea for too long. After the acoustic opener “Assholes” (which states with almost Keatsian elegance, “Everybody grew up and turned into assholes / You don’t have to show up giving me hassle”), the Damnwells drive into the punky “What You Get,” propelled by electric guitar riffs and thumping rhythmic motifs.
“Bastards of the Beat” jumps from the punk vein to a more vocally punctuated and softer one reminiscent of Everclear. One of the best songs on the album, “I’ll Be Around” has a flowing exposition and an infectious chorus. Guest Aaron Miller’s atmospheric trumpet provides the song with an extra frosting that makes me wonder why it hasn’t been all over the top of the radio charts.
The acoustic love song “I Will Keep the Bad Things From You” states in humorous albeit heartfelt terms what everyone wishes they could do for their romantic partner, soulfully expressing “I will sleep above the covers / I will love you like no other” and afterwards, “I will feed you fries with steak sauce.” The vocals do more work here than the guitar, but they’re sung so well that the song could even work a cappella.
Perhaps it is this quirky humor that keeps the band on the banks of mainstream music. From “Assholes” at the start to “New Delhi” (“Go and turn on the TV / Naked women on 63 / I wish I was tall”) at the end, “Bastards” drips with humor and strangeness. But it is this strangeness that makes the band endearing, like a funky lava-lamp that you just can’t tear your eyes from. The “Damnwells” have not yet gotten the recognition they deserve, and “Bastards of the Beat” is full of good music to prove it.
Jake Christie can be contacted at [email protected]