Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome America's newest protest singer -- Mick Collins! OK, that's going a bit far to make a point, but Collins does seem to have more serious matters on his mind than usual on the fourth album from the Dirtbombs, We Have You Surrounded. Fans looking for more of the Dirtbombs' patented R&B-seasoned garage punk assault still get what they came for with tunes like "Ever Lovin' Man" and "I Hear the Sirens," and those fascinated by the band's way with a cover will want to cue up their re-imaginings of Sparks' "Sherlock Holmes" and Dead Moon's "Fire in the Western World." But there's a decidedly apocalyptic undercurrent to this collection of songs -- technology turns its back on us all in "Wreck My Flow," the environment is at the point of collapse on "Fire in the Western World," greed and vanity turn dangerous in "Pretty Princess Day," survivors struggle through the wreckage of our society in "Leopardman at C&A" (written by Collins and famed comics scribe Alan Moore) and the whole saga reaches its logical conclusion en français on the closing number, "La Fin du Monde." Even the album's free-noise freak-out "Race to the Bottom" seems filled with an unspoken anxiety. But if the Dirtbombs fear for our future, they sound determined to go out with a bang -- We Have You Surrounded is tighter and more focused than 2003's Dangerous Magical Noise without sacrificing the frantic energy that's always been at their core, and Troy Gregory and Ko Melina sound better integrated into the Dirtbombs lineup than they did on the split-LP Billiards at Nine Thirty as this band rages against the dying of the light. Maybe Mick Collins can't save the world, but he's got plenty of worthwhile things to say on this album, and his global angst beats Bono's for sheer entertainment value any day of the week.
Already 2008 is looking good because a couple of my absolute favorite artists have come up with new material. Here’s my review of the Dirtbombs latest, up today at Dusted. The DirtbombsWe Have You Surrounded(In the Red)A couple of years ago, when I talked to Mick Collins, he said that the Dirtbombs were probably more than halfway through their arc as a band and that after one more album, thei.
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Already 2008 is looking good because a couple of my absolute favorite artists have come up with new material. Here’s my review of the Dirtbombs latest, up today at Dusted. The DirtbombsWe Have You Surrounded(In the Red)A couple of years ago, when I talked to Mick Collins, he said that the Dirtbombs were probably more than halfway through their arc as a band and that after one more album, thei.
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It's been an awfully long while since the last proper Dirtbombs album, though their massive singles compilation a couple years back did manage to plug the gap. But anyway, this February, the long drought ends with We Have You Surrounded on In the Red, and it's pretty great. It is not, as far as I can tell, the bubblegum album that Mick Collins was promising a couple of years ago as the final ...
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4:17The Dirtbombs' singer is Mick Collins. The album was recorded in 2003 but only came out last February. I like the two rhythm sections and Collins' voice.Rawk!
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Holy crap. Last week, I tossed my iPod on shuffle for a few errands I needed to drive around for here at work, and I think my little electronic wonder was stuck in the 1990's. In sequence (and lamely enough, deemed worthy enough of scribbling down by me for future reference):Pearl Jam - "Black (live)"Weezer - "Only in Dreams"Smashing Pumpkins - "Blue Skies Bring Tears electric"Pearl Jam - "Jere...
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The Dirtbombs have a new album. I'm probably much more excited about this than you, but that only proves that I am in fact a better human being than you are.It's called "We Have You Surrounded" and it's about as serious as they're ever likely to get. Basically, Mick Collins has gone on an apocalypse kick. But it's still damn good. "Indivisible" and "Wreck My Flow" are as instantly listenable as...
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 "We Have You Surrounded")
