King Ropes
Dirt
(self-released)

We get wild swirling guitar and a laconic back beat on opener “Dogleg Boy,” a song heavy on atmosphere and showcasing Dave Hollier’s shaky yet effective vocals. There is a rockabilly punk to “Long Lost Boy,” a tune which benefits from Dylan Treleven’s simple, high-end bass and purposely slightly out-of-tune vocals, while “Lurch On Sister” (again featuring some sly bass playing from Treleven) is a flicky guitar swayer. (Guitarists on Dirt other than Hollier, who vocally teases and taunts wonderfully here, are Ben Roth and Adam Wolcott Smith.) This noisy track is one of my favorites on what the boys consider “side one” of their new album, Dirt. “Shovel and a Pickaxe” is a slow, dangerous, loud guitar strut. The tune overstays its welcome, but Konrad Meissner keeps things in lock step with his drumming behind all the noise. “She’s a Runner” provides a nice soft moment from the instruments as well as vocals, giving us a good chance to see the range of King Ropes. It’s a sweet tune with Meissner keeping the snare clicks in fine form. “Rocks in Little Crevices” ends us here. It’s another slow one and again, the boys might keep at it a little longer than they need, but they build a nice atmosphere. I like Dirt a lot. This band has lots of colors to play with in their crayon box.

You can listen to the album here.