Dikembe -Ā āHail Somethingā
Releases like this make me glad Iām alive at a time where this is so much amazing music being released and Iāve worked myself into a channel where I can talk about it on a larger platform and continue to find releases like this. Iāve been a fan of Dikembe since the release of theirĀ āChicago Bowlsā Ep dropped a while back. An old friend of mine reccād it to me and it was a perfect piece of alt-rock / quasi-emo? (I donāt know what to call them, really. Just good music?) (Shout outs Serenity, if you read this) since then, Iāve been pretty loosely following their releases and actually found out about this one through Sydney zine-come-label Lost Boy, who are releasing the Australian pressing for this album,Ā āHail Somethingā and have done a slew of other cool shit as well like the Meridian and Pinch Hitter Split 7ā³ or even the Georgia Maq and Spencer Scott Split 7ā³. The single off this albumĀ āJust Explodeā was on serious rotation at TFTS HQ since it was dropped andĀ āHail Somethingā offers up a collection of songs that continually outdo its predecessor and stand out on its own accord. This record is flawless and itās definitely my favourite full length to have come out so far this year.
All through this record, there is complete chordal driving from Steven Gray creates a world of down strumming brilliance. The first few bars will almost always primarily have a small guitar part, something that was used extensively by Johnny Marr from his time in The Smiths, with the rest of the instrument triumphantly joining in not far behind. Each intro makes me thinkĀ āfuck yes, itās this songā without fail and happens on every single song. In juxtaposition with this, those last chords give me simultaneous bummer feelings that song is over but admittedly excited for the next.Ā Couple this with a writing style that doesnāt retread the same ground in terms of structure, all of the tracks progress in a beautiful expedition of endearing lyrics delivered by conviction stocked vocals, freely played and tightly performed drumming, and subtle but imperative bass lines. There are so many songs on here that could easily work as singles but the best way to enjoy this release is listening to it the entire way through. It has so much repeat listening value, much like Drug ChurchāsĀ āHit Your Headā. The more time you give to this LP. the more nuances will reveal themselves. The more they reveal themselves, I can almost guarantee that youāll love this.
Listen to it below:
https://dikembe.bandcamp.com/album/hail-something
Pre-order your copy through Lost Boy too because this is too good to miss!
http://lostboyrecords.bigcartel.com/product/hail-something-dikembe
~Matt
