Punk Head Records – 18 Oct 2021
Dirty lixx and garage punk n’ roll
For starters, Dirty Flix is comprised of former members of Lettermans. Not that that really means much here but it does help guide you in to what to expect. Whereas Lettermans focused their energy on a Ramonescore style of rock n’ roll/punk, Dirty Flix stays on the same highway, but changes a lane or two into 70s garage rock/punk stylings. Cheap Trick comes up a lot in descriptions, and it ain’t wrong. There’s a poppiness to it that also gives me an era-contemporary Elvis Costello feeling on a few songs, too.
Set Your Radio on Fire is the band’s debut LP, and is a catchy set of tunes that can appeal to a large audience. Starting with lead track “Bring Back Rock n’ Roll” the band lends credence to their name with a loose, rollicking rock number complete with raspy vocals. It has a kick to it and has also a bit of a punk-a-billy groove. However, it is on the second track (and the first single released) “Hollywood Dreamgirl” where you begin to see the comparisons to the 70s glam rock sound. Catchy riffs and a powerful, sing-along-ready chorus drive things along. The vocals aren’t nearly as… devious… as the lead track, but there’s still that naughty raspiness present.
Moving forward a bit, “Back of My Hand” is a standout song for me, and the one that invited me to begin to recognize an Elvis Costello vibe. From the lyrics, the composition, the stop/start style (à la The Cars “Just What I Needed”); it’s a masterwork of that 70s dirty rock n’ roll sound that Dirty Flix trucks in. The pleasure of this song is that it does what so many songs of that era did, took the same bits and pieces that everyone else was using and piecing them together into something new. Just my opinion, but best track on the album.
The album rarely deviates from its course and, when it does, those deviations are incredibly minor: some songs are faster, some are slower. Sometimes the vocals are have a snarl to them, sometimes they’re preformed a bit cleaner. This album definitely has broad appeal. I can imagine it being played in an arena, or down at the local dive bar, and both gigs would be just as good as the other. All in all you know by the third song in what Dirty Flix is about, and what you’re going to be getting all of the way through to the end.
This can be both a blessing and a curse, though. Even if you’re not into the 70’s rock sound, you can appreciate a song or two, but the uninitiated (or uninterested) ear may find these songs starting to blend together. I believe that those who dig this style of music, though, will find a lot to appreciate in how well-crafted these songs are. Like Lettermans before, Dirty Flix comes into this knowing exactly how to get the sound they want, and they pull it off in spades.
Plus, “Back of My Hand.” That song rocks.
the white drew carey (aka – Jeff Sorley) is the founder and head editor of TGEFM. He’s lived (outside of) Chicago, Madison WI, (ugh) Penn State, Lyon FR, Oxford UK, central New Jersey, and now within earshot of SFO in the Bay Area. When not scouring the web for more great bands and labels to post about, he also spends time drawing (mostly) silly sci-fi and anime stuff under the name Asplenia Studios.
