Lots of songs about drugs and alcohol and feeling out of place, suitable for most teens.
Dios (Malos)'s new album opens with the track 'Feels Good Being Somebody' which doesn't wait around, it kicks in with a heavy breathing lick which makes you think of Kraftwerk's 'Tour de France', the verse is in the style of The Shins, but everybody makes that comparison and it shouldn't be taken too veritably, so I won't mention them again, and the chorus, which breaks in very suddenly, is a groovy little catch, there's even a bit of Daft Punky vocorder in there for good measure.
So, quite a positive start, and then the nice acoustic second track 'Say Anything' cements the notion that this is going to be quite a good album. And that it is; it's a fuzzy coloured record that can be likened to a fizzy drink in the way that bubbles rise to the surface of the music and snap crackle and pop in bursts of sugary goodness at the top. Think a few years ago when all that bubblegum punk was coming out of LA and environs, the toilet humour, puberty-clad emotion of it all, and imagine a band from that scene that grew up faster than everybody else and gained enough maturity to make songs in the same vein but with much more substance, both musically and lyrically, as well aesthetically, and you've pretty much got Dios (Malos), a bit like a less rampant Rival Schools. Yes, its good pop of the new age, and new single 'I Want It ALL' is the perfect example of that; quirky guitars and musical syntax, though with still enough charm and musical sophistication to keep it circulating the higher echelons of popness. 'So Do I' is a drug-song, alike in its lyrics to Pulp's 'Sorted For E's and Whizz' and striving to be as epic as Dylan's 'Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35' but just missing the mark and coming across as a Beatles-esque singalong.
Later on in the album 'Grrrl...' is sweet in its shortness, but could have easily become annoying had it been a long song and 'I Feel Fine ALL The Time' is cool, especially with its mega flanger interlude in the middle which is a bit of an assault on the aural senses. It does lose pace somewhat towards the end after its very strong opening, but it certainly picked up at the penultimate track. 'Later Skater', maybe a denouncement of skate-punk dross, is the final fling and flutter of the album, re-igniting the flame that had diminished a bit in the previous few tracks. Then going out with 'Old Field Recordings' the album ends on a youthful and raw note, crowning the past fifty minutes with its final salute.
And after you've heard it all and had time to reflect, those Shins comparisons are pretty apparent, though there are a lot of differences between the two styles, you can certainly hear the influence in the music. Still, its an individualistic album of quirks and coolness, not entirely a keeper but certainly worth a go...