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 Caught in the Carousel "There will be music despite everything"
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The Dollyrots
A Little Messed Up
Blackheart
I'm a big believer in the idea of a "personal theme song" and The Dollyrot's "Because I'm Awesome" became just that for legions of teenagers the summer of 2007. Since that breakthrough, this pop punk band caught the eye of Joan Jett and is now signed to her label, Blackheart Records.
Led by singer Kelly Ogden, the trio (with Luis Cabezas and Chris Black) may be leaning a bit more towards the pop side of punk on their third album A Little Messed Up, but still retain the same hard charging guitar riffs and clever lyrics that have defined their sound for the past 6 years. A Little Messed Up is full of the kind of fast paced catchy songs that will stick with you and make you an instant fan of this enormously entertaining band (if you weren't already).
Kicking off with the statement song "Rock Control" The Dollyrots set the stage for 13 tracks of music in which they are very much in control. Every song is confident, memorable and high energy. Standouts include "California Beach Boy"—the quintessential summertime driving-with-the-top-down-car-full-of-best friends anthem (think The Go's Go's crossed with The Donna's) and "Big Mouth" where The Dollyrots return to their punk roots with a more driving rhythm section and tougher lyrics. The weak point of the album has to be "Pour Tous Jours" because a punk band attempting any kind of French is just...wrong (unless the band is actually French).
A Little Messed Up retains enough of the band's punk heritage to keep their old school fans happy while adding in just enough pop to make it more accessible to newcomers. Overall, it's a great mix and the perfect end of summer album.
—Pamela Obenchain
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