The video for Sponge Boy by Dog, Paper, Submarine and off the album "Trouble On Earth" should be a B-horror movie about a swarm of hyper elementary schoolers who after consuming copious amounts or Pixie Stix and sweet pop drinks descend on a town of adults sucking them dry of any energy that is not youthful, spontaneous and immediate eventually turning into a massive Sponge Boy at least that is what I imagined why listening to this jack hammer of a song. I mean, seriously, this song might be the dividing line between youth and more staid "responsible" adulthood, kind of like skateboarding I suppose. It seriously jams. In fact all the songs do on this album.
Maybe even more surprising is that Dog, Paper, Submarine is based out of Sweden. I know that is very stereotypical of me and maybe I thought of them as an American band just based on their sound which to me really centers on that kind of indie rock period of the mid 80's and 90's.. Bands like Weezer, The Orb, Miracle Legion, Pavement, Presidents of the United States, The Breeders, The Smithereens, Sabadoh and I'll break my time frame by including Devo as well. Sure Dog, Paper, Submarine are totally guitar centric in comparison to the bucketheads but they possess some of the same cheeky, fun, comic book quality of bands like Devo.
Changing is one of those songs that has this kind of dadaism stream of lyrics (or not) while the music is switched to full on rock. Love the sounds during the breaks, the bass lines and guitar sounds are so damn inviting while Martin Månsson Sjöstrand spews the vocals with a bit of a synical snarl but somber tones too. Champ has a Beatle bounce amidst the fury and the stacked harmonies are really lush. View From The Sidewalk has a choppy rhythm and big rock chorus. The sway of Popgun made me feel the Smithereens and dream of the 80's and where I was at my life at the time (also playing in bands). Kids In The Sinister Spin is delicious with a Breeders vibe. Sunday Night Riff is the most mellow track sounds all New wavish and folk rockish with proggy tendencies.
Man, I love this album. It successfully evokes a unique time in indie music while retaining a fresh sound too. "Trouble On Earth" will be on my best albums of 2016 list. I implore you to check it out (below) and support this band. Remember they are called Dog, Paper, Submarine out of Sweeden and are respectively Martin Månsson Sjöstrand (vocals and guitar), Emil Engblom (bass) and Carolina Carlbom (drums and vocals). The album is out on Small Bear Records.
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Robb Donker
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