Dreadnaught: Gettin' Tight With Dreadnaught

Having seemingly done away with the notion of putting out albums (temporarily at least, a full length release is on the way next year), progressive outfit Dreadnaught continue to ask us to get intimate with their music by following up the Have A Drink With… EP with the invitation of Gettin' Tight With Dreadnaught. It's a suggestion that needs to be taken seriously, with five tracks which happily answer the conundrum of how to make technical music catchy and memorable, a heck of a statement.

Unusually the instrumental track "Nervous Little Dogs" opens proceedings, but it's an energetic little mutt that bares its teeth and wag its tail with real enthusiasm. "The Badger" is up next, with no less zeal and a keen eye on melody and structure. However with more in common with Umphrey's McGee, or a strident Sreely Dan, any of these more mainstream traits are tempered through the willingness to stretch musical boundaries and challenge the listener as they soothe and seduce. "This Time Next Year" sounds every bit here and now, although in gloriously retro-style, Dreadnaught are capable of bringing intricate vocal arrangements to bear and allow them to impact with full force.

"Knife Hits" lands with an eerie thud, almost a minute of ambient humm and thrumm clearing a path for a gently jagged guitar line and occasional hand claps to offer juxtaposition to feedbacking guitars and a bold riff. All leaving the eight minutes plus of "Barefoot Kicker" to illustrate the sharp storytelling side of the band, a jaunty fusion of styles bouncing on a bulging bass line, as off kilter vocals snag the ear. The key here is the relaxed manner in which a whole host of different ideas and attacks come together to make a sure footed and cohesive entity, and with this short five tracker Dreadnaught offer more depth and clarity than it takes most bands an album and a half to get close to.

Track Listing
1. Nervous Little Dogs
2. The Badger
3. This Time Next Year
4. Knife Hits
5. Barefoot Kicker

Added: October 17th 2015
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Dreadnaught on BandCamp
Hits: 1684
Language: english

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