Dot Dash: Half-Remembered Dream (2013)

It seems like the members of Dot Dash are in a race to build a mighty discography. In two years the band have released three albums (see here), each possibly better than the one before, that showcase their unusual power-Brit-pop-punk hybrid. At this rate we can exorcise the ghost of their past bands  (Youth Brigade DC, Swervedriver, Modest Proposal, Julie Ocean) and focus on the future, after all as the band reminds us,  "You can't turn back the hands of time!"





While the band is pushing for a larger audience, nothing on their new album, "Half-Remembered Dream", seems like the nostalgia-mongering, 'era-recapturing' men of their age might wallow in. The songs range from pretty, ringing mid-tempo tunes like "(Here's to) The Ghosts of the Past" to absolute rippers like "A Light in the Distance". There's a fiery sense of mission on each of the ten tracks that the band spits out in 29:00 minutes. When Terry Banks sings "I was losing track of time/I was turning water into  brine" while the rest of the band (Bill Crandall, Hunter Bennet and Danny Ingram) thunder behind him, you just know these are men dead set on making up for lost time.


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Dot Dash: Winter Garden Light (2012)

"Spark>Flame>Ember>Dash", the debut album, by Washinton's DC's Dot Dash's  was a solid set of songs (review here) that brought together the indie-guitar sounds of the USA and UK but the band's new album, "Winter Garden Light" betters it on almost every level. It sounds like every group member has been allowed to break loose anything that was restrained on the first album. Just check out how "Writing on Wall", "La-La-Land" or "The Past is Another Country" all rip along; the hooks are more incessant, the guitars all hit harder and, crucially, drummer Danny Ingram sounds like he's been unleashed. Dot Dash debuted well but their second act's the clincher.






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Dot Dash: Spark>Flame>Ember>Dash (2011)

Washington D.C's Dot Dash's "Spark>Flame>Ember>Dash" (already discussed on Willfully Obscure and Shotgun Solution) lay out their M.O. in the perfectly-titled "That Was Now This is Then." Which 'Then' this album evokes, of course is trickier to define, as each member bring different things to the mix. Guitarist/Singer Terry Banks (ex-Julie Ocean) is in charge of bringing the R.E.M.-ish pop melodies, which he never fails to do. The rhythm section, bassist Hunter Bennett (also ex-J.O.) and drummer Danny Ingram (who is ex of both DC hardcore band Youth Brigade and UK shoegazers Swervedriver!) bring a slower, more measured post-punk sensibility à la Joy Division. Finally, Bill Crandall, who was in highly-under-appreciated eighties American mod band Modest Proposal, brings a Weller-like guitar-power to the mix. When all these forces come together on rockers like "No Reverie" Dot Dash gives us a big kick in the now.




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