Album Review: The Flatliners - Dead Language

Growing up in my towns local punk rock scene I saw a lot of bands come and go. Many of them I don't remember, mostly because there was nothing memorable about them. Every once and a while though a band was get on stage that would strike a chord with me and leave me wanting more. Thankfully The Flatliners just never seemed to go away, and unlike the other bands that rolled through town, they got bigger and better. I lost touch with my towns scene for a few years, and the show that brought me back was The Flatliners who had come back to town to play songs from their record The Great Awake, and my mind was blown. Since that record dropped in 2007 on Fat Wreck Chords they've had two more releases, 2010's Cavalcade and their new album that dropped last month Dead Language.

This record definitely builds on the new sound that The Flatliners have been working to develop since their first major release Destroy to Create (2005). On Destroy vocalist Chris Cresswell had an enormous amount of speed and power behind his voice which gave a great youthful sound to their blistering punk/ska sound. Though now, they have really established themselves as a much more matured band. Their songs now are more driven by a developed musicianship and th unique vocal style of Cresswell. Their songs seems to speak from the years spent on roads in vans and on planes going around the world.

Dead Language picks up where Cavalcade finish and ramps up with the opening track "Resuscitation of the Year" which is an intense anthem hitting you hard in the face to tell you "Sit the fuck down and listen". This song almost sounds like it could have been on 2010's Cavalcade and feels like a bridge between the two records. The blistering punk rock drive, with blistering quick chords and a destructive rhythm section automatically put this song into my good books. The albums continues with a great pace through "Bury Me", and ramps down to a slower and deeper pace for the very noteworthy "Birds of England." not before stabbing you in the ears with "Drown in Blood".

Track after track on Dead Language put a smile on my face as it's always a surprise that a band that has been consistently pumping out amazing material for years has yet to jump the shark.

While this album is great, it still didn't seem to reach the heights of their last two albums. Many of the tracks on The Great Awake and Cavalcade would get stuck in my head for days and I've yet to experience that in the week or so I've been listening to Dead Language. That could be in part that those last 2 albums were very chorus driven and simpler than their new tracks. It could also be that the years on the road are taking a tole because an amount of settling down can herd in comparison to Cavalcade. Either way Dead Language does not disappoint a fan of The Flatliners and I could see it being easily accessible to someone who is into punk, pop punk or even just general hard rock.
   


   

Dillinger Four – Civil War

When I was 14 and entering grade 9, as well as a whole ocean of new music and art, I became engulfed in the punk rock culture . I was doing the whole 9: listening to the music, going to shows, having the 3 foot Mohawk and my ridiculous studded jean jacket. But what stuck out the most, even till this day, is the music. Something about the right punk song can completely change your mood and attitude and make you snap out of the funks we often fall into.

Dillinger Four was one of the first punk bands I was introduced to in high school from my punk rock guru Ryan. What struck me was the simplicity and rawness, but it still had that poppy catchiness but minus the cheese and empty words.  Dillinger Four (D4) is Patrick Costello (bass, vocals) Erik Funk (guitar, vocals) Bill Morrisette (guitar, vocals) and Lane Pederson. After 3 studio releases, from 1998-2002, D4 went on a 6 year hiatus before releasing their most matured and interesting album Civil War, in 2008.

 Civil War is one of those albums that will stick with me my entire life and instantly took a spot in my top albums. Similar to D4’s other albums is that fact that there is not a single crappy song in the set, but what was different is the obvious maturity in these 13 songs.  Even from the first song (A Jingle for the Product) you can hear In lines like “we never had a chance but we made our plans till they we’re blown apart, we watched it all crash around our feet and man it broke my heart” where they seem to be looking back into the youthful versions of themselves and the tribulations of the punk rock mind set. 

 The album deals with a range of subjects from the media’s propagandized projection on culture, government denial, to a beautiful anthem for atheism called “The Classical Arrangement”.  Though there is an obvious maturity this has not stifled the youthful fast upbeat and simple rhythm and guitars, which create the recognizable punk rock sound but with noticeable tweaks. The album is also perfectly put together which a amazing balance of hard hitting punk anthems to more slowed down serious tunes. There is just something about Civil War that has kept me listening to it at a nearly daily basis, something that keeps me smiling whenever i hear it, something that makes me sing the songs out loud without caring who hears it. For me this is one of the greatest pop-punk albums i have ever herd and any fan of punk, hard rock or whatever should at least give the songs a try. I give this album an easy an easy 10/10.