Dignan – Cheaters And Thieves (Music Review)
By Andrew Duncan • Nov 4th, 2009 • Category: Categories, Indie Rock, ReviewsDignan
Cheaters & Thieves
Self Released
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Links: http://www.myspace.com/dignan
There is something that is soothing about Dignan’s sound. The subtle palette of guitar melodies, soft drum textures and neutrality of the band’s vocals all wrap around the comfort and ease Cheaters & Thieves has to offer.
But underneath the surface is a brooding underbelly that haunts and torments these songs. The lyrics are the Dorian gray to the album, an androgynous mortality it gives this album. Guitar chords twist into minors. Andy Pena’s vocals turn to desperation and then the title of this album becomes clear. As the band sings, “There’s not much time,” on the song “Two Steps,” the grim reality becomes distinct.
Whether it’s brash lyrics (howling “I with you’d die,” on “What’s Done Is Done”) or dissonant chords in a hurried waltz time signature on “Pillars and Pews,” that turns into ethereal bliss that floats off into extinction.
After all of this, why listen to something that sounds so dismal? It’s the same reasons we listen to The Warlocks or Spiritualized. We all want to float in space, and we want the comfort of knowing that we are not alone in doing so. And we all want to know that everything will be allright. That’s the purpose of “Whistler” as they exit with “someday we will all be holding hands.”
2012 is not that far away, and the way Dignan has captured and composed all of this, Cheaters & Thieves provides the soundtrack to the end of the world.
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Andrew Duncan is a journalist who has migrated to the forces of academia. He has written for various publications including Chord, Heckler, Readyset...Aesthetic, and a vast array of alternative press contributions. When not roaming the streets of Indianapolis, he is either addicted to KXCI, making music, or striving to watch every film listed on IMDB.
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