Norwich Darkside - Dog Fashion Disco

Acid Jazz Metal legends return with a challenging new album that's set to show the masses exactly whats wrong with alternative music today.

Over a decade on from their self-released 'Erotic Massage' album, Dog Fashion Disco have come a long way. Not that their music has lost it's eclectic charm, nor have the band have given up their integrity for a shot at the mainstream of course. The underground legends release their 6th studio album tomorrow, on the heels of last years ill-advised live album that about 7 people bought. 'Adultery' is unsurprisingly a worthy addition to the Dog Fashion Disco legacy, the band exploring unchartered (unashamedly un-heavy in places) territory with an album concept that extends past a mere theme and the CD booklet (a brilliant pulp comic format, adorned with images from the 'story' within) to really tell an interesting story of betrayal, lust and, of course, murder. 'Private Eye' is the sleaziest, sexiest track they've created, and sounds like the music to a porn flick.

The first thing that strikes the listener is how varied this CD is. From the heavy metal assualt of 'Darkest Days' to the twangy southern rock of 'Desert Grave,' this is a band who are comfortable in many genres, often ignoring any industry boundaries and crossing everything together. The band recently called their music 'Movie Metal' and this album really could be the soundtrack to any good film-noir movie. In fact I can imagine this backing up Pulp Fiction or Sin City easily.

Todd's vocals are superb as usual, his range now equally as impressive as his mentor Mike Patton. The band have transcended their 'Mr Bungle wannabes' tag however, to achieve far more musically accomplished work than Patton's band of misfits. This disc is a perfect example of 5 musicians working on the same page (6 including the 'horn guy' Matt.)

The production is impressive for a small label release (DFD signed to Rotten Records late last year) and you can hear all the little nuances and samples the band intended even when you're listening through basic Hi-Fi speakers.
If the CD has a weak point, it's that the concept is so strong that it means only about half of the tracks work as well taken out of the context of the rest of the album (100 Suicides, Darkest Days and Silent Film are just as anthemic as ever though). But then again this isn't a band looking for 'single material,' (even though the video to 'Silent Film' is threatening to break MTV in the US) so thats not really a problem. The CD can also get a little too weird at times, especially on the haunting 'Dead Virgins Don't Sing.' Arguably 'The Hitchhiker' is a masterpiece partially flawed by a totally surreal interlude.

However these criticism are small in comparison to the success of the album as a whole. Some of the tracks on here are among the best the band has ever done, and far more interesting than whatevers going on in the mainstream right now. I really wish I could get inside the heads of Todd and co because it seems like it's a much more interesting place than out here! 9.5/10 Buy it from Amazon