The newest EP from NJ screamo two-piece Dads is an impressive continuation for the band, sounding clean while staying true to their previous aesthetic, if only in its evolved and subtle forms. The four tracks on Pretty Good might not be more substantive than the ones on their two previous releases, Brush Your Teeth, Again ;), and American Radass, but it is a more decisive product--a well mixed insight into the chaos of the post-hardcore portion of their sound. If Dads are the sun, this EP comes with polarized lenses. But in the end you're still staring right into the glow.
The structure of this album is more thought out than your average EP; in fact, it plays like a full-length in many ways. Considering their bare-bones lineup, it seems Dads do a lot with a little--but that would be selling them short. Dads do a TON with a little. I've been to many a show where a band's guitarist had an impressive pedalboard, only to be disappointed by the muddled sound or thoughtless use of the effects available to them. Memo to guitarists carrying more than your own weight--in the words of the Stranger, take 'er easy, dude. Dads' Scott Scharinger has clearly received this memo. His pedalboard is tastefully used, in that it's not brought in to make contrived changes in sound, but changes that the songs demand. On Pretty Good, he rips and noodles at times, but often simply carries the song. I was particularly impressed with his ability to loop in extremely noodly clean riffage atop absolutely driven power riffs, befitting a band that hasn't disowned screamo's pop punk stop-time and power-chord influences.
Drummer John Bradley's vocals are unique and more refined than ever, and it's impressive how much it really sounds like a full-time vocalist wailing like Circa Survive's Anthony Green as the song textures change below it. Said song structures manage to be nicely stripped down without losing too much of that crucial emo feel. Bradley continues to lay down drum tracks that compliment; rolling floor tom buildups a la Rites of Spring and other early emo acts comparable to the duo's crash/croon sound.
The marriage of the instruments is Dads' best yet. They have always had an ambitious sound, and now it has solid direction. Catchy is an understatement, as the songs' melodic signatures are gloriously repeated while the texture changes, making a good case for the listener to get sucked in.
Too often, reviews are quick to mention how a band fits into a particular trend. Dads fit into the newest wave of emo--whatever terminology we're working with these days--but they shouldn't be famous for that. The tastes I got from these songs--from early Taking Back Sunday to middle-period Animal Collective to later Death Cab, earlier Dads and back again--all screamed something more thought-out, or a naturally good chemical reaction between the two members of the band.
These guys are extremely comfortable in their sound, and that's what make it so listenable. You could try to listen for what they were “trying to do,” but who knows if they even know. They're too cool for that. The clean guitars kill, the driven guitars aren't just the clean guitars distorted but instead sound like a different member of the band, and the rhythm's changing but droning structures fit better than in past releases. If bands were traded on the stock market, I'd advise you to buy buy buy. But thank god they aren't, as Dads can do whatever they want with their sound next. As long as it still translates into the live show that has been so much of their success (according to their website, they are “literally always touring”), then I'm on board.
While their sound can still be built upon, I won't speculate where they will or should go. But Pretty Good is, at the very very least, pretty damn good, and it does those of us who still have great faith in the DIY screamo scene a big favor, by proving that some of the best new bands are doing a lot more than just copying off each other.