Double Dagger - More

Genre punk rock Publisher Thrill Jockey External Links

Punk is not dead. No, I’m not using that as the tired catch phrase a lot of people do, I really mean it. Punk is not dead, and it never will be as long as there are guys like east coast punkers Double Dagger. These guys are far from the polished sound of punk so many people have grown up with. But they aren’t “old school” either. In fact, in my eyes, the best thing about the band is their set up. I’ve only once seen a band that is a bass/drum combo and it takes real talent to make it work. Sad to say, I don’t think they make it work.

The album starts out nicely with “No Allies”. It has a cool bass riff that quickly descends into a wall of punk sound with screaming, loud drums and a sharply attacking bassline. The thing that surprised me about the lyrics on this album are how surprisingly personal they seem to be. Whether they are or not is irrelevant. I was expecting a full on assault of “anti this, peace for the kids, f*ck your system” and all of that other tripe you hear from pretty much EVERY punk band that has this raw kind of sound. The lead off track along with “Vivre Sans Temps Mort” is quite personal, at least on the surface. 

There are some others though, that dare to tread where many others have gone before. “The Lie/The Truth” jumps out a lot in this way. The whole lyrical point of the song is pretty much what every anarchist or “free thinker” tells people they don’t agree with. “You’re so close minded man, quit looking at things in such a narrow way” blah blah blah. Its not impressive and its not good song fodder, at least not this way. What’s oh so sad about this song and a few others on More is that all they need is a little polishing to be better songs. Not even a polish, a SPIT SHINE would do. But these guys are hard down on these songs being as they are. 

“Surrealist Composition With Your Face” follows much of the same lyrical content, as it is an indictment of popular culture and how the singer thinks actors see the world. I like the song though, for a few reasons. First, the title is funny and makes me laugh every time I think of it. Second, there are parts of the music in this song that are really good. I love the outro because it is a simple and somewhat catchy bass line that uses the art of the fade out. I do have a real problem with the middle section though. Using feedback can be a very effective tool, as Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobian, you can also completely OVER use it, which is what happened here. It becomes grating to the ears and makes you want to turn it off and miss a great little outro. 

The band comically tries to do an instrumental track with “Neon Grey”. I don’t say its laughable because its bad, its actually good, but I get a kick out of a band doing an instrumental with two instruments. Add to that they are two instruments that are primarily used to ground a song. I think these guys deserve major props for at least trying to do it.  

Something else I can’t get past is the lack of quality vocals on this album. Even in what could be a great song like “Half Life” or a song that just is what it is in “Helicopter Lullaby”, the poor vocals really shine though. For me, they really, REALLY hinder my ability to get more into this record as I find myself cringing at times at missed notes from the vocals AND the music. 

I know, some of you think I don’t “get” the punk sound. I do get it. It’s supposed to be raw, uninhibited, and honest. More is a full frontal punk assault that never lets up. It’s raw angst and expression at it’s best, but all of that fury is meaningless if it doesn’t have a direction and if its hampered down with punk cliché’s.