dASHDOWN – Jaguar EP
This Chicago band’s 4-song EP has inspiration that drips from the garage rock ethic of the ’60s. They wisely take a sharp, heavy plane to the grain of their musical wood & shave the rough edges by adding Americana varnish. “Rock & Roll Healer,” may be a little gruff but it has rootsy suggestions that spike the brew. All 4 cups of this distilled metric musical hooch were produced by the players Dave Ashdown (vocals/drums/bass/guitar) & Rich Ashdown (lead guitar).
Not all songs will appeal to the purist roots rocker but an effort is maintained that truly is the American way of rocking out economically. It’s not progressive rock. No Procol Harum heavy-duty chances or Yes swashbuckling swishes. It’s an Americana garage grease & paint job. The harder tosses at the Kewpie dolls like “Holograms” is power chords & thrashing drums with unified vocals in a drunken stupor of harmonic abrasiveness. I say that with love.
It’s got its persuasive moments & it can be heard that the duo tries to keep the folk-rock embellishments in line despite the overwhelming flames of grungy fabrications endemic of the EP Jaguar (Drops March 15/Independent/11:00). An introduction to their homemade genre that emits lots of fumes.
The mixture will bop n’ bob the heads of younger listeners. The older aficionados of the garage rock cinder block thick sound will tear off a layer of skin from the inherent ‘60s artists like Electric Prunes (“I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night”), The Stooges (“Down On the Street”) & the Strawberry Alarm Clock (“Me & the Township”). Then, later in the ‘70s with The Wild Stares (“Piece of the Picture”) & early Wire (“Dot Dash”). These old cronies will invest in a crooked smile as they negotiate their Pabst Blue Ribbon with shots of dASHDOWN in their waxy ears.
It’s not for everybody, but for some. It has roots not in mineral rich soil but mud. Brown like beef gravy mud — caked & dried from the sun on your body. It’s music to bask in. Oh yeah, their musical thrust should be more out of the poet Carl Sandburg persuasion. That’s an aim their music would thrive in even more. Or it should with that city of Big Shoulders attitude chased by their thick chords & Kelsy’s greasy burger beats.
Highlights – “Rock & Roll Healer” & “Holograms.”
B&W image courtesy of dASHDOWN Facebook. CD at Bandcamp + Amazon & Apple & https://dashdownchicago.com/
