Unity Worldwide Records – 05 Feb 2022
These former members of Dag Nasty are not content to live in the past, and instead add to that band's already impressive legacy.
Field Day are the band put together by two former Dag Nasty members, singer Peter Cortner and bassist Doug Carrion. Their original intention was to play songs from Wig Out At Denko's (1987) and Field Day (1988), the Dag Nasty records that they appeared on. (Neither was on the first album, 1986's Can I Say) To their credit, they were not content to be a greatest hits punk band and started working on new songs.
Why? consists of four new songs and is the band's third release (the first was a two song seven inch succinctly titled 2.0, and the second was a five song, single sided twelve inch EP called Opposite Land). All four tracks on Why? are really strong. Like good enough to hold their own against the songs from those two beloved, previously mentioned 35 year old records.
The melodies and harmonies are on point. The lyrics deal with the complicated nature of human relationships. The vocals are emotional, and even vulnerable, but never wimpy. The music rips too, and does an admirable job of balancing the speed and the melody. We're easily reminded why Dag Nasty were influential to both emo and skate-punk. The title track is probably the best thing on the EP, but “Invitation”, “Alive” and “Audience of One” are great too. These songs have an undeniable depth.
It seems wise for Field Day to slowly roll out new stuff. Most folks in their older audience want to hear the classics. I caught their pool party set at Punk Rock Bowling last September, and it was among the sing-along highlights of the weekend. Field Day are definitely focusing on quality over quantity, and the new songs have that same singability. I can't get enough of them. Old school Dag Nasty fans will LOVE this if they give it a chance.
For vinyl fiends: The seven inch version of this is going to give collectors fits. There are no less than seven color variants and at least a couple different covers. I haven't snagged a physical copy yet, but it's definitely high on my wishlist.
Part-time punk writer, suburban dad and angry old man. Follow my adventures on the Punk Till I Die podcast!