Posted on: August 8, 2010 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

The sunny punk-pop of “Feels Like Drowning” shows Dennis to be more influenced by Dick Dale and The Ramones than by Husker Du and The Replacements. This is not to say that the music has a dated or otherwise backwards sound it, but to expect more of the same music that brought Refused to the forefront is to invite disappointment. This brand of punk is almost the most simplistic and boiled down that music can get; besides the guitar and pedestrian drum beats present on tracks like “Golden Times”, there is not much else to create the music of The Lost Patrol Band.

In fact, by the time that “Get Ready” rolls onto the queue, listeners will be grooving along with the almost Weezer-like hook to each of the tracks. The infusion of rock music and eighties-tinged synthesizers during “Get Ready” really throw this track into early Cure , but the Rivers Cuomo-like vocals of Dennis keep the track firmly grounded in the relatively recent past. Coming back to the same power-pop well seemingly forevery track on this self-titled disc, by the time that Dennis and eir band gets to “Pick Me Up” the formula seems to be crystallizing and breaking around them. The ennui and weaker hold on the beat during this track, coupled with a complete lack of new material on the track will leave listeners unsure whether Dennis has another half of a disc worth of new material in eir.

An increased amount of vocal energy is another way to rage against the (complacency) machine during “A Girl Like You”, but little else is changed during the track. Trying to trecalibrate The Lost Patrol Band’s sound slightly for “A Dose Of You” to include more of a Misfits (in the multiple harmonies of the chorus) meets A Flock Of Seagulls (the synthesizer) sound, but just as is the case with the rest of the tracks on this self-titled disc, there is just not enough in the way of difference between the track, not enough differing reasons to keep listeners focused in. This is not to say that tracks like “Let Me In” are not primped and preened for rock radio (and will cause listeners’ heads to bop), but there is just very little in the way of material present that will keep listeners wanting to tune in. Let Dennis ride out this wave of love-centric tracks and chances are that the next Lost Patrol Band CD will be less single-minded.

Top Tracks: Let Me In, Feels Like Drowning

Rating: 4.8/10

The Lost Patrol Band – S/T / 2005 Burning Heart / 10 Tracks / http://www.burningheard.com/lostpatrol / http://www.burningheart.com / Reviewed 12 September 2005

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