Dumb are good at plenty of things, but relaxing isn't one of them. The Vancouver four-piece write feverish tunes at a frantic pace, delivering catchy post-punk songs in two-minute blasts of wiry riffs and indignant social critiques. As the title indicates, Club Nites is a collection of narratives drawn from the nightlife ecosystem. Attempting to break from the typical romanticized version of "the club" as seen on TV, the album instead depicts a bleak social setting, where we zoom in on seemingly petty details in order to reveal the cracks that Hollywood forgot to fill. The LP has the energy of a raw nerve. Packing 14 tracks into a little more than half an hour, Dumb are unfailingly economical, with no-nonsense song structures that last just long enough to get stuck in your head. Club Nites is a whirlwind of seemingly insoluble influences battling one another into existence. Singer-guitarist Franco Rossino's vocal stylings are instantly captivating, ranging from spoken-word rambling, to Fugazi-esque chants, to what it might sound like if Mark E Smith had fronted The Zombies. Guitarist Nick Short creates intricate layers of guitar that range from austere rock riffs to timeless pop progressions, with a healthy dose of feedback to tie it all together. Bassist Shelby Vredik combines melodic bass lines with a powerful rhythmic precision that complements drummer Pip Morelli's meticulous, pummeling beats. Dumb belongs to a lineage of jagged post-punk that runs from Minutemen to Pylon to Parquet Courts, yet the band remains loyal to their pop sensibilities.
A1 | Club Nites | 2:10 |
A2 | Submission | 2:24 |
A3 | Don't Sleep | 2:20 |
A4 | Beef Hits | 2:16 |
A5 | Cursed | 2:16 |
A6 | My Condolences | 1:51 |
A7 | Content Jungle | 3:07 |
B1 | Some Big Motor Dream | 3:54 |
B2 | Fugue | 1:47 |
B3 | De Más | 3:13 |
B4 | Columbo | 3:06 |
B5 | Slacker Needs Serious Work | 2:07 |
B6 | Knot In My Gut | 3:04 |
B7 | CBC Radio 3 | 1:47 |
Backing Vocals – Lauren Nelson (B1)
Lyrics By – Sumsor Tovnym (A7)
Mastered By – Mikey Young
Photography By – Marisa Kriangwiwat Holmes
Saxophone – Ridley Veronicah Bishop (A4)
Written By, Mixed By, Recorded By – Dumb