Red Dons: Death To Idealism [The punk record of 2007?]
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Artist:
Red Dons: Death To Idealism
[Deranged Records 2007]
World-class punk rock is again brewing in PDX. The Observers (responsible for So What's Left Now, one of the best punk records of the millennium so far) are sadly no more, but more or less the same personnel continue as Red Dons. Their debut album Death To Idealism is sonically much like The Observers. Telecasters pump trebly chords on top of pummeling drums and limber and driving, almost Rezillos-like bass lines. The lead singer and primary songwriter Douglas Burns again delivers chanty, T.S.O.L.-like vocals. This all is done with the passion of Stiff Little Fingers. The song craft isn't quite as amazing as on So What's Left Now, but it's still good enough to count as top-notch. The record conveys its dominant theme, social alienation, not only through lyrics that lament mass consumerism, religious fundamentalism, the current political direction of the United States, and the difficulty of finding one's place in the world. It conveys alienation also by its sound: the vocals are mixed to sound distant, and as if echoing in an empty space, and the overall tone is quite cold and clinical. No doubt this is due partly to the cheap production, but it's there nonetheless. A perfect soundtrack to feelings of rootlessness.
The bottom line: If you like punk rock but are tired of revivalist punk bands, check out Red Dons. Death To Idealism is the best punk record I've heard this year.
More songs in the comments and on MySpace.
[Deranged Records 2007]
World-class punk rock is again brewing in PDX. The Observers (responsible for So What's Left Now, one of the best punk records of the millennium so far) are sadly no more, but more or less the same personnel continue as Red Dons. Their debut album Death To Idealism is sonically much like The Observers. Telecasters pump trebly chords on top of pummeling drums and limber and driving, almost Rezillos-like bass lines. The lead singer and primary songwriter Douglas Burns again delivers chanty, T.S.O.L.-like vocals. This all is done with the passion of Stiff Little Fingers. The song craft isn't quite as amazing as on So What's Left Now, but it's still good enough to count as top-notch. The record conveys its dominant theme, social alienation, not only through lyrics that lament mass consumerism, religious fundamentalism, the current political direction of the United States, and the difficulty of finding one's place in the world. It conveys alienation also by its sound: the vocals are mixed to sound distant, and as if echoing in an empty space, and the overall tone is quite cold and clinical. No doubt this is due partly to the cheap production, but it's there nonetheless. A perfect soundtrack to feelings of rootlessness.
The bottom line: If you like punk rock but are tired of revivalist punk bands, check out Red Dons. Death To Idealism is the best punk record I've heard this year.
More songs in the comments and on MySpace.
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