Caught in the Carousel

Dearly Beloved

Make It Bleed
Rounder

Dearly Beloved

In 1972 The New York Dolls detonated the NY club scene with a style of music that no one had ever heard before. They shook us loose from the corporate controlled over produced world of what had then become rock and started a revolution. The Dolls introduced Punk to the world.

Dearly Beloved is the new generation of punk. Taking the Punk DIY esthetic into the 21st century by utilizing influences from Punk, Grunge and Rock to create something entirely unique. Their latest release Make it Bleed is a remarkable example of this approach. It is best described as pop punk but has more depth than that label implies.

Clearly influenced by The Pixies' Black Francis/Kim Deal call-and-response collaboration, lead singer Rob Higgins and Niva Chow create a distinctive sound for the band. Make It Bleed is Dearly Beloved's third album and it reflects a band that has hit its stride. This is a confident, passionate album, but one that is not without its weaker moments.

You have to love a band that opens with the line "Are you an angry young dumb-fuck?" That is the brilliance of the album's first song "Acceptance Corporation"; not only does it have the type of in-your-face lyrics that made the Sex Pistols infamous, it's also backed by a passionate rhythm section featuring Higgins on bass. The second cut on the album, "Move On" is easily the most catchy and accessible but it's songs like "Candy Coated" that show the band's real power. With Chris Molson's gritty guitar and Gavin Maguire's hard-charging drums, Dearly Beloved display their true punk roots. "The Butchers Dog" is another indelible cut. The song is dark, menacing and turbulent. The sound of trouble on the horizon. Unfortunately, Dearly Beloved lose some of their momentum at the end of the album with "Unsee" a morose dirge about moving on (didn't we cover that ground in the aptly named second cut, "Move On"?). In case we didn't get enough of that theme, the final cut is an unnecessary dance remix of "Move On".

Now pushing 40, Punk is officially middle-aged. But with bands like Dearly Beloved carrying the torch it shows no signs of slowing down or succumbing to an ill-advised comb-over. DIY at its finest.

—Pamela Obenchain