Photo By Carly Hoskin
Seattle – Dads was one of the new bands we recently covered at Riot Fest and now their second full-length album, I’ll Be The Tornado, is coming out October 14. While the album starts off with a calm, possibly acoustic style, I’ll Be The Tornado evolves over each track, showing that the New Jersey emo/punk duo are not just another band trying to bring emo back.
John Bradley (drums and vocals) and Scott Sharinger (guitar and vocals) are the only two official members of Dads. But although only two guys are producing all the music, the quality of the songs and record overall is pretty impressive and Dads show that more members does not necessarily equal better music. (A third member plays bass live with them.) But even more impressive is that Bradley, who plays drums, is also the lead vocalist. Anyone who can play drums and still sing well is someone to be noted. Their website shows all the pedals and other equipment that Sharinger uses to create the full, layered sound heard on several tracks on this album.
The opening track, “Grand Edge, MI,” has a Bon Iver-esque hook and is eerily named like many of their tracks. But it proves to be more than a sob story ballad, because by the end of the song, it turns into a breakdown where you hear the passion and pain come through the music and vocals. The first single and second track, “Chewing Ghosts,” plays with friendly guitar lines and typical emo lyrics. But despite those conventions, it pulls the listener in pretty quickly. Continuing through the rest of the record, the tracks build on one another without becoming repetitive. By the end of the album, the listener has an understanding of what Bradley and Sharinger can really do. “Take Back Today,” possibly the best track on the album, is a rock anthem that may jerk a tear or two.
Amongst the several bands popping up in the punk scene who are reviving 90s emo, Dads stands a bit brighter. Several groups involved in this revival are making music similar to those before them like American Football and Jawbreaker. And while the influence is obvious in Dads’ music, every track has a little taste of something different. They may call themselves an emo/punk band, but their musical capabilities extend beyond those classifications. They get into really raw ambient and shoegaze-y breakdowns as in the second half of “Sold Year/Transitions” or experiment with punk vocals like in “You Hold Back.” Their punk and emo style may not just derive from the influence of 90s bands; this scene (whether one believes in the emo revival or not), has its roots practicing in garages and self-producing. It’s the back-to-the-basement mentality that has allowed a band like Dads to build up a solid fan base and release a record like I’ll Be The Tornado.
The lyrics are where the most emo influence is obvious. And some of the lyrics in these songs may come off a little cheesy when read on paper. But when listening, the lyrics and the music come together. It’s possible to sing along to something like “Maybe you’d like me again/ If I went back to the bottle” (in “Chewing Ghosts”) without feeling lame. Even when a song sounds like it’s going in that sappy direction, they are able to put some unique mark on it like a grungy vocal breakdown or a mesmerizing guitar intro. It’s a shame that Bradley doesn’t really let go during the passionate vocals parts. It’s like he’s holding back too much and if there were a guttural release of lyrics, their music could come off even more passionate than it already feels.
Overall, I’ll Be The Tornado contains a nostalgia for music in the 90s/early 2000s but is contextualized in a modern record, one that holds it’s own amongst other bands in the emo revival. Their nationwide tour with Tiny Moving Parts begins October 17.
Jess Keller
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