Monday, December 18, 2017

Belated obsessions: The Dirtbombs - Dangerous Magical Noise (2003)

This is an album I've been in love with for as long as I remember myself being a conscious garage/punk/rock'n'roller. Mind you, not a death or thrash or doom metal fan (phases I've identified as during various and younger periods of my life). I'm talking about being a fan of "music with guitars" in general; that is, being able to distinguish the "rock 'n' roll" in a song, no matter where said song is placed genre-wise, be it within the aforementioned harder genres or within softer ones.
It could be said that Dangerous Magical Noise adequately encompasses everything the phrase "Detroit Rock City" meant during the '90s and '00s. Mick Collins, the mastermind behind the Dirtbombs, was done with the Gories; his first band where a raw and bassless garage/punk made its mark in the early '90s. The Dirtbombs, in their beginning, featured two drummers and two bassists, apart from Collins himself taking care of guitar and vocals. Collins' widened musical spectrum was now obvious (made clear by other projects of his, like Blacktop,  King Sound Quartet and the Screws, among others) and the Dirtbombs were the vessel. Initially, the band used to only release 7" vinyl singles, until their debut full-length Horndog Fest in 1998 and Ultraglide in Black in 2003, the latter being comprised entirely out of covers on classic R&B songs. In 2003, the band decided to adopt a more straight rock sound and merge with the already fuzzed-out nature of their sound. Thus, Dangerous Magical Noise

This is one of those records where everythig seems to be perfect and every song is a highlight on its own. The Dirtbombs make the perfect combinations out of garage rock, punk, glam rock, blues, R&B and here they deliver 15 (counting the 2 bonus tracks as well) sweaty tracks of pure rock 'n' roll daring you to stop swinging and singing along; something impossible. Speaking about 21st century american rock 'n' roll, Dangerous Magical Noise is definintely one of its milestones that needs to be studied by everyone involved.

To my knowledge, the band still exists to this day, with their last full-length Ooey Gooey Chewy Ka-Blooey! being out in 2013, and their 2011 album Party Store featuring covers on classic '90s techno tracks(!). Do a favor to yourself and discover the gem (of historical proportions) that Dangerous Magical Noise is, if you haven't already.




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