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"Ask for Jill" sounds like nothing I've ever heard before and makes me smile every time (especially in the recorded phone conversation). Two best albums of the 80's in my opinion. The song structures are original and surprising with every listen. The dB's manage to be extremely progressive and pop at the same time. They embody a strange neo-psychodelia in songs like "Espionage" and "Dynamite" recalling the drawled vocals of sixties classics like the Kink's "Lazy old sun." Amplifier sounds like a They Might Be Giants song with a darker twist. They never stuck to formula. Timeless.If you like this, check out the Feelies 1st two albums
This is the album that bridged the 1970s southern rock of Big Star and the southern Indy Rock of REM. It is full of enjoyable hook driven rock and roll
A girlfriend I had years back bought this album for me because she loved the song amplifier and figured I would as well. If I had a seven inch of the first three songs I'd give the DBs a four star rating. I don't find it interesting. and told her as much. Not worth the $10. We broke up a couple months later. I thought the song was stupid. This.
The first three songs on the collection are good. The first, Black and White, is an absolute gem. Sounds like an 80's movie background band. Maybe you disagree.
A lot has been said about The DBs classic Repercussion. But even quirkier- and my personal favorite of the two- is Stands for Decibels. It's arguably the very best album to emerge from the early 80s South/East (Chapel Hill/Athens) alternative scene. I'd go further and say its classic pop sound checks and superlative stories of relationships gone awry place it in the the top twenty rock albums of all time. It's a much more challenging soundscape, embodying the edgy music of the best New Wave and at the same time providing an exemplary blueprint for so much heartfelt thinking person's pop to come in the subsequent twenty years. Absolutely essential.
I feel good." I would sound like a dope if I said that to an audience - but say it with evocative music with an appropriate composition and you get - something too ahead of its time to get any airplay."We were happy there:" Big drum sound and repetitive riff to express "Girl I've never been so tired of living" and 8 bars later, a major chord progression without the drum sound which expresses "we were happy there," then back to the minor key to express "a long long time ago.""Happenstance:" Minor, dirge-like chord progression utilized to scold a girlfriend, telling her to "run back to your mother."There is so much music here within such tight song structures, but "Repercussion" still isn't well known. The Db's use a simple riff and droll vocals to state a simple and final statement: "Dave went home and killed himself last night." When the song reveals that the girl left and took everything, but left the poor fellow's amplifier, the guitar riff 'amplifies' what Dave was feeling.
the songs on this record are a varied lot, borrow from lots of sources, but thematically point to a similar theme - old relationships, loss, regret, and occasional bravery in the face of rejection. I am usually deaf (blind).
This review is for the Db's second record - Repercussion:Wow. Some examples of lyrics that combine with composition: "Amplifier:" a song about loss and suicide.
to lyrics, but here, the songwriting matches the lyrics. Much as "Repercussion" sounds like a souped up version of the Raspberries or Badfinger, "Repercussion" goes to next level and is a foundation for our contemporary rock/metal scene - these days, bands may rock hard but are able to express many emotions.
"I Feel Good (today)": Acoustic guitar and cello and rambling chord progression (that goes up and up) evokes a "lazy day affair." The Db's then tighten up and play faster in the chorus with a tighter chord progression to express their "running jumping everywhere." The Db's then resolve the chord progression to tell everyone "is that bad. Try it, especially if you are from Hoboken.
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