photo courtesy of Dirtbag Republic

Album Review of Dirtbag Republic: Bad Decisions

On the heels of the instant classic Tear Down Your Idols, Dirtbag Republic returns with the band’s fourth studio album, Bad Decisions, a new collection of raw, rowdy, unrepentant rock ‘n roll songs pandering to fans of cleverly-phrased, energetic, filthy-catchy anthems. Recalling the early-eighties Sunset Strip bands whose gritty demos belied their mammoth hooks and blistering axework, Dirtbag Republic is energetically raucous, and this album is like a slow-moving virus. Slowly, as your battered brain begins to adept to the album’s fast pace and the music sheen of white noise, it discovers an album of soon-to-be favorites. If I had to pick a band to compare them to, Hanoi Rocks would come closest, but these guys are Dirtbag originals.

The album kicks off the a jangly dirty-glam rock guitar riff before Sandy Hazard’s inimitable voice – a tuneful, rough-hewn, does-he-gargle-razor-blades?-tinged classic rock wail – takes over, and by the end of the song you’re singing along with “I don’t care about nothin’.” And, like most of the disc, the music elicits the sound and feel of the sort of dark, sticky live music clubs that smell like flop sweat and desperation, places where all the best nights of your young life happened.

image courtesy of Dirtbag Republic

One of the coolest things about these guys – and I’ve gotta go here in part because there are only so many ways to describe fun, raucous, guitar-driven rock songs – are the songs’ lyrics. Someone here is a songwriting savant. Sure, some song titles give it away – for example, you know you’ll soon be singing along with the title lyrics of turn-it-to-ten, energetic “Bipolar Rollercoaster” – and others sound interesting (“Streetlight Parasite”) while the memorable lyrics are thematically title-adjacent, but sometimes the coolest lyrics – and the ideal sonic and vocal deliveries – come in less obvious locations.

“I Fought Them All,” for example, amid its fast-driving tempo and relatively blistering, attention-grabbing, late-song axework, and what you think is going to be the singalong title lyric, “I fought them all, I fought them all,” sneaks in surprisingly clever elocutive riffs like “Beatdown a-comin’, don’t stop a-runnin’. It’s up to you, my friend. Bitchslap a-comin’ don’t stop a-runnin'” and the Mr. T-esque “you think you’re better than me, fool.” Yeah, I know. It’s not just the lyrics; it’s also the delivery.

And on dive-bar anthem “Bad Decisions,” the band paints a vivid picture with the lyrics “I’m warning you lady, I know you’re on a mission. Don’t come any closer, you smell like bad decisions” supported by the appropriate steady, thumping drum beat, jangly guitar riffs, and grizzly vocal tone. Again, the well-oiled, favorite dive-bar sound makes sense… and, in this case, scents. Well, OK, I guess mabye that one is title-adjacent.

photo courtesy of Dirtbag Republic

But I think my favorite lyric, certainly of the last year and quite possibly of the decade, comes in “Hard in the City.” Compared with the other songs here, there’s a bluesier, blues-rock edge right from the start. But the sneakiest favorite lyric is hiding in plain sight in the chorus: “Raining hard down in the city, washing away the piss and despair…” Yes, that’s right. Now try not thinking of that lyric whenever you’re in a city in the rain. Makes me think of Paris. Fondly.

Of course, it’s not all about the lyrics. Even without the clever wordsmithing, Bad Decisions would be a fun favorite record. And it’s not all an adrenaline ride. Dirtbag Republic can take it down a notch, too, though they rarely do. However, this disc contains one of those classic open-space songs – is that organ in there? – “Here I Am,” replete with a Billy Joel-ish late-song keys solo and some lyrical runs that remind me a little of Blog favorite rockabilly-ish alt-country singer Adam Lee.

The album’s penultimate track, “Cocaine Heart,” digs a little deeper and channels a little more ’70s classic rock energy. And it’s followed by energetic disc-ender, “Light Your Fuse,” with a tempo that’ll get your blood pumping.

So yeah, Bad Decisions is yet another instant-classic record from Dirtbag Republic. The production and delivery are a little rawer than I typically favor, which causes my listening habits to recall the first time I heard Dirtbag Republic. The music grows on me slowly, with the sneaky hooks slowly digging in, and by a few listens, I can’t imagine these catchy songs – so many of them new favorites at this point – being performed any other way. Give these guys a listen. You’ll probably love the whole album like I do. But for sure you’ll at least find a couple new favorite tunes.

photo by Matt Leaf; photo courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Album Review of Dirtbag Republic: Tear Down Your Idols

Dirtbag Republic‘s vocals are raw but its instrumentation is full and rich, giving the band’s catchy, memorable, (sometimes) singalongable, energetically straight-forward hard rock just a hint of a punk edge. Add fun, unapologetic lyrics, classic rock guitar runs, and an in-your-face delivery to the mix, and you’ll discover a new favorite band. My first inclination was to compare Dirtbag Republic with the London Quireboys and Dogs D’Amour, but no, if you dig a little deeper, this is a top-shelf, talent-heavy Sunset Strip-caliber hard rock outfit with its own inimitable style. This band checks so many boxes – with plenty of bonus “style points” – that I can only categorize its potential fans base as “fans of guitar-driven rock ‘n roll.” And, I might add, why are you not already listening to these guys?!

There’s so much to write about this album, I’ll do a song-by-song, as-I-listen review.

The disc opens with a guitar riff that screams “rock and roll!” as “Main Objective” kicks of with a frenetic-paced journey through Dirtbag Republic’s original sound, sporting classic rock guitar riffs, rough-as-broken-glass vocals, a vocal line that stylistically moves around the pocket, rarely landing directly on the beat, a couple Enuff Z’Nuff-ish distorted harmonies, the anthemic lyrics “as long as I am still alive, rock and roll will never die,” and a guitar line that simply does not stop, slow down, or break to take a single breath.

image courtesy of Head First Entertainment

Whew, when that song’s over, you want a break? Ha! You wish! The tempo doesn’t slow a bit on “Skinny.” There is just the slightest hint of space in the not-quite-so-wall-of-sound sound bed, but man, the lyrics are biting, culminating in the oh-yes-you-will-sing-along chorus “She’s too skinny, look a little closer. She’s too skinny, anorexia nervosa.”

So, yes, two songs in, and you’ll be hooked. You’ll know this is one of your new favorite bands. As a reward, you get a little break from a tempo that is now a little less way-too-fast. But the songs are still as rockin’, and the lyrics and delivery just as much fun. “Wannabes,” for example, is next, and it’s all about… well, being a rocker.

On “Days Are Gone,” about wasted teenage years, you’ll find yourself singing along with the chorus “long gone, those days are gone.” See, I told you there’d be lots of singing along.

“Don’t Answer to No One” is another would-be hit single (if you could find hard rock on the radio). It’s yet another Dirtbag Republic song with a monster hook and a singalong chorus. Do you detect a pattern? Yeah, but it’s a catchy-as-hell, fun, rockin’ pattern. And there’s a moderately-nuanced distorted guitar bridge just past the midway point that you should listen for – it’s one of those guitar parts that, if it’s done properly (and this one is) lets you know “there are no new lyrics, but that’s OK because you’ll enjoy our musical arrangement as we repeat lines from the chorus a few more times until the end of the song.”

What’s next? Oh, yeah, it’s the title track “Tear Down Your Idols.” It’s another rollicking, hooky, memorable song you’ll find yourself singing along to during and long after listening to the album. Gotta say, though, based on the lyrics, it sounds like maybe your idols have kinda turned into money-grubbing losers who deserve to be torn down, or at least knocked down a peg or two.

When you listen to how the band sings “Sorry,” you almost can’t tell they’re Canadian… except that they have a song called “Sorry,” which is the most stereotypically Canadian song title of all time. It is also, though, a rhythm section-driven, hard rockin’ number you’ll dig. Next up, “Did All I Could” utilizes somewhat sidewinding guitarwork and more finesse-driven drumming to provide a cool new vibe without sacrificing tempo.

The next song, “Superficial” is another standout. I’m not sure if it’s the music that’s so catchy or if it’s just fun to sing along with the word combination of “superficial unconditional.” Regardless, I’m starting to wonder if I’ll run out of fingers counting how many of the songs on this 11-track disc are memorable, though I think maybe I counted the first two songs twice, so that contributes to the digit scarcity.

Penultimate song “When I Was Young” opens with a bit of a raw, Green Day-ish vibe before developing into a straight-forward, driving guitar rocking number, reaching a tempo and pace that continues through the end of the album on disc-ender “Turn Back Fast.”

Whew! What a disc. If you like rock ‘n roll but don’t like Dirtbag Republic’s Tear Down Your Idols, then you don’t like rock ‘n roll.

Looking Ahead

According to this Instagram post, Dirtbag Republic is mixing its new album, slated for a 2024 release. I can’t wait!