Johnquest- #10 - For The Country by Dumptruck

FOR THE COUNTRY | DUMPTRUCK

I'd never heard of these guys before this, which is always exciting. the wise ole internet says they're similar to the reivers (who I am a noted enjoyer of) so I doubt these fuckers’re bad. This fucker, I should say. There were two guys in the band before this album- then one ditched the other for some probably good reason and the other guy made this. Which, yknow, fun. Intra-band drama can make some good shit! As can one guy. I think- or at least hope I'll like this one. I like music, usually.

Songs featured here are only from the album's original release. Whether or not I've since listened to the bonus tracks will be kept secret. :) this is just how it is. You have to understand that this is how it is.

OVERALL VERDICT:

This is an album for people who like nice sounds and also Agony. every track on it is beautiful. It's got all the aspects of proto-shoegaze 80s nonsense that everyone likes. It's pensive. Its instrumentals are beautiful. It's sung by a guy with a VERY naturally agonized voice. It's great. It's music for sad people. It can fo anything. Have I mentioned that it's great? Because by god it is. Wonderful stuff. Wonderful painful stuff. Whoof.

TRACK BY TRACK:

1. Island is very late-80s. I like the lead singer’s slight rasp. The mixing is odd but in a pleasant way. There's such agony in these vocals. It's awesome. That steady drum beat is doing some insane shit as well. As previously mentioned, it's an agonized song! It's a song that hurts! But much like GcD and Nanci Griffith, it has a remarkable ability to hurt and SOUND GOOD. with every passing album I listen to I am happier that I will probably never have to hear a sad Wet Wet Wet song ever again. And that guitar at the end? Oh lord. Boy oh boy. I'd love to see this one live. Just, holy hell. There's a really wonderful almost surf-y bent it's got? It rocks. And that… synth? Horn? The high pitched thing in the back. It's wonderful.

2. 50 Miles Is less than the proclaimers went. But most lengths are. This one is cinematic, majestic, mountainous… there's an excellent environment here. It feels very PNW to me which is odd because these guys are from (checks notes) massachusets. I don't really know where that is. Maybe I'm right. This is a pleading song and the vocalist is WONDERFUL for it. lord, i love how this song sounds. I wish I could live in it even though that probably wouldn't be great for me. The ending is kinda Big Dipper ish but I'm not sure I'll rec them here…. Hrm.

3. Friends sounds slightly psychedeliaesque. The man (I keep forgetting the band's just one guy now) would fit in almost perfectly with the rising storm (who, as a matter of fact, seem to be preforming riiiight outside my window right now. Christ alive it is WINDY!). but it's also decidedly 80s. It's a more reserved song, but not dreary. Pensive, as I so frequently say. I wonder if the band's situation had any impact on this one. It's got more great guitar, still wonderful vocals… it's a good’er. And I should probably close my window now on account of Jesus Christ This Weather. Where was this yesterday when I was standing out in CRAZY HEAT watching cars die? That's not relevant. This one's good.

4. Carefree is VAY POWER POP. And still decidedly These Guys. It's about gentrification, in my heart. In reality? Probably not. Well. It talks about gentrification. It exudes listlessness and if I had to guess it's actually just about the mundanity of everyday life and being “carefree” as something the singer struggles to hold onto as everything goes to shit and gets boring. And it sounds GREAT! I love what they're doing with the guitar here. Loopy shit! As in it sounds like it's going in loops. Is that even guitar? Maybe. I may not know my instruments but I know A GOOD SONG when I hear one.

5. Brush Me Back is another more reserved one. And it's good too! On account of this guy's good at music. It kind of reminds me of Beck but I think it's just that countryish guitar. It's not that countryish. Well, the acoustic guitar played this kind of way. And the vocals. And the subject matter. A lot of these songs feel very personal and this one is no exception. I've been in this situation too, though. Sometimes you've gotta cut ties with an asshole! And it's better now than after they've treated you like shit for years and taken you for granted.

6. Hung Out On A Line gets the energy back up to a healthy 4/10. It's more electric but still pensive. It's real nice. Slower pace, but still decidedly These Guys. this Guy. I'm over halfway through the review but I'm still doing this. Jesus. I love how this guy writes lyrics. They're poetic but not like, haughty, and they're idiosyncratic but normal enough to resonate with most people. Which, yanno- not me obvy, I run a webcomics themes music review site, but. Like. They're good. Widespread appeal. These words have got it. I really dig the guitar in the more intense bits. Lord, these’re good.

7. Going Nowhere (not to be confused with the White Town song “going nowhere somehow”)(and oh, that storm is here now.) is, as all the best songs about going nowhere are, upbeat and somewhat energetic. I'm not sure this guy can be energetic alone, at least now but, like, for him. Give a visit to your dead-end friend, he's written and sung and played some good songs. And he seems he needs someone around. Go visit him in nowhere, it'll be good for you both. This one also gets twangy. It's great.

8. For The Country is the title track! And it's having fun again, for a dumptruck-able amount of fun, of course. It's got a good emotional balance. It goes up and down and when it goes up. Whoof. “Drifting on an ocean til you die” he sings, but the sound elevates it so high he may as well be in orbit. It's a wonderfully airy sound. I keep saying that and I swear there’s gotta be a better way to word it. Delightfully- pleasantly. Pleasantly washed out. As this guy heads out to the country. Lord this one’s good. Probably not the best to be in any role painted in this song but, like, it's beautiful. It sounds wonderful. Gotta love a good ocean song.

9. Dead Weight verges on dreary- but mostly it's not. It's an emotional tune. The guitar redeems it in my mind. It's good guitar. A perfectly imperfect kind of song. A companion. Not really something to listen to when you don't also feel like shit. It's not hopeless, just… let down? It's an earnest song. I'm struggling to have more to say about it. Which is more on my constant exhaustion than the song itself.

10. Wire is another one that's more upbeat. It's another cinematic one, I would say. It fits into what has by now become apparently to me and probably you also as one of dumptruck’s staples: something emotional, something beautiful, something about wanting to have the confidence/energy/reason to escape from an infinite sea of mundanity. With a little bit of hope in there too. It's really good. The guitar is good- There's TAMBOURINES! It's wonderful. I enjoy it. Much like everything else. Much like everything else…

11. Barking up the wrong tree is more subdued. It feels very final and given that it's the last song on what was, for a time, their last album, that's very appropriate. It has a repetitive guitar riff reminiscent of, like, plodding. Walking along heavy in body and thoughts. It keeps that theme of shit gone bad going. And, of course, it sounds really really good.

If you like this Album, you might also like: CRASH THE TIME MACHINE by ODDS or BASED ON A TRUE STORY by THE MOVIES

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