Antelope Valley Press

Dune Rats bring the party to you

By SEBASTIAN GARCIA Valley Press Staff Writer

Summer’s not quite here yet but if you find yourself in need of the perfect soundtrack for prowling the concrete jungle or while longing for lazy beach days, then queue up Dune Rat’s new album, “Real Rare Whale.”

Hailing from Brisbane, Queensland, Dune Rats came together in 2010 with Danny Beus (guitar and lead vocals) and BC Michael Marks (drums and backing vocals), rounding out a power trio by eventually adding Brett Jansch (Bass).

From the offset of their 2017 debut “The Kid’s Will Know it’s B ****** t,” they fostered a beach bum-slacker vibe with potent PunkRock/Garage tendencies, like the LA band, Fidlar.

It’s no coincidence, “Dunie’s” second album, “Hurry Up and Wait” (2020) was produced by Fidlar’s Zac Carper (vocals/guitar).

Where Fidlar made an attempt to balance their debauchery-fueled, barn-burning music with radio-friendly tendencies on their last album, 2019’s “Almost Free,” it was still weaker than their older albums.

The same can’t be said for Dune Rats. Following isolation in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the trio — now free of canceled tour commitments — sought refuge in the fishing village of Eden, New South Wales.

While there, they were determined to make an album that expressed their rebellious party vibe. A welcome counter to the negativity going on in the world, the Australian trio’s fourth album maintains the band’s edge by blending the same DIY, no-frills approach of previous works with some of their most raucous, rebellious and funniest songs to date.

Leading “LTD” is fast and chord-heavy with an ear worm chorus that sets the template for the majority of the other 10 songs.

Lyrics, “Two in the front and there’s one in the back, that’s three Dune Rats with a case in the lap,” induce you with visions of the opening stages of carefree, reckless partying. Offsetting that and underneath Marks’ double-time, rumbling drum patterns, “Everyone is saying that we need moderation, all we ever really needed was a little motivation. If you’re getting disconnected, then you gotta be strong,” poses that in the face of outside factors dampening you, why not get down, instead?

“UP,” on the surface, would be a textbook definition of being the opposite of anything that classic punks would endorse. Starting with dreamy vocals and fading into a dance atmosphere, it’s coated in Pop.

Delve deeper though and you find the sour center that — like the best of Punk — relays uncomfortable realities. Beus describes a way of life, burdened by the clock, stuck in the same day-in, day-out cycle. But

... “Space Cadet” is a sincere enough letter about impacting society.

the silver lining? “I’ve got fat stacks (baby). I got my tax back, baby.”

“Pamela Aniston,” about teenage crushes, reminds you that the trio still writes songs with a youthful spirit, even if it means recalling those hormonally imbalanced days.

Practically a first-hand testimony of memory loss due to being plastered, “What a Memorable Night” with the indulgent, “Skate or Don’t,” are best at divulging the band’s hedonistic ethos, thus far.

Showing more depth like earlier “UP,” the song “Space Cadet” is a sincere enough letter about impacting society.

Instead of winding down near closing time, the album concludes with songs such as “Melted in Two” a distorted, reality-bending adventure, and the obvious reveler, “Drink All Day.”

If you haven’t partaken in any crazy beach parties, you’re lucky to not have to deal with sand and sunburning, but this audio might make you feel like you just woke up on a sand dune in the afternoon — your last memory being sometime the night before.

SHOWCASE

en-us

2023-01-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-01-27T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://avpress.pressreader.com/article/281848647736413

Alberta Newspaper Group