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Masks |
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Double Dagger does not make “background music.” The Baltimore trio’s songs are meant to be experienced, rather than just listened to—either at one of their intense performances or with the volume turned up loud enough to feel it in your gut. Double Dagger embodies the contradictions of the fair-yet-blighted city they call home—visceral, raw, cacophonously loud, yet with unexpected moments of clarity, humor, and revelation. Live, Double Dagger’s stripped-down musical line-up, consisting solely of bass, drums, and vocals, somehow manages to sound like a stage-full of musicians. Drummer Denny Bowen hammers the drums with such force that bassist Bruce Willen must employ four amps to match his volume. Singer Nolen Strals wades into, out of, and sometimes on top of the audience, channeling a dynamic energy that often has the three musicians dripping with sweat by the second song.
Music reviewers have compared Double Dagger to (in alphabetical order) Antelope, At The Drive In, Big Black, Black Dice, Black Eyes, Black Flag, Broken Social Scene, Butthole Surfers, The Buzzcocks, Cop Shoot Cop, Dead Kennedys, Dead Milkmen, Death From Above, The Death Set, Dischord Records, The Dismemberment Plan, Dylan Thomas, Explosions In The Sky, The Fall, The For Carnation, Fucked Up, Fugazi, Gang of Four, Green Day, Happy Mondays, Health, Henry Rollins, The Hold Steady, Hüsker Dü, Japandroids, Japanther, Jesus Lizard, Joy Division, June of ’44, Karp, Led Zeppelin, Les Savy Fav, Liars, Lightning Bolt, Lungfish, Manic Street Preachers, Mika Miko, Minor Threat, The Minutemen, Mission Of Burma, Mudhoney, The New Flesh, New Order, Nirvana, No Age, No Trend, Parts & Labor, Pavement, The Pixies, Ponytail, Presidents of the United States of America, Q And Not U, The Ramones, Rites of Spring, Sebadoh, Shellac, Six Finger Satellite, Sonic Youth, Steve Reich, Stiff Little Fingers, Suicidal Tendencies, Swell Maps, The Talking Heads, Unwound, Volcano Suns, Weezer, The White Stripes, Wilderness, and The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, among others.
While this description is generally apt, Double Dagger continues to push the boundaries of what some critics have dubbed agit punk, angry pop, art punk, art rock, DIY, future shock, genre bending, genre defying, grunge, hardcore, heavy metal, In Utero-era noise, indie, indie rock, left field rock-n-roll, math-rock, metal, metallic funk, minimalist punk, minimalism, no wave, noise, noisy pop, political pop, political punk, pop punk, pop/punk, post-grunge, post-hardcore, post-pop, postpunk, post-punk, post-rock, punk rock in the purist form, punk, quasi-punk, rock, thrash, unclassifiable, or underground music.
Double Dagger’s new EP, Masks, continues in this vein, taking up where their acclaimed 2009 full length, More, left off. Masks presents a series of vignettes, ranging from acerbic to facetious to self-reflective, on the facades we build within our lives. Masks contains some of Double Dagger’s most catchy songs to date, yet characteristically the tone of the album encompasses the abrasive and sarcastic as well as the upbeat and closes with a surprisingly delicate instrumental. The EP was recorded by the band using a necessarily DIY setup, and like More, manages to capture the loudness and energy of Double Dagger’s explosive live performances.
The Masks CD and LP both feature limited edition packaging designed by Strals and Willen’s design studio Post Typography. The LP and CD each come in three different covers, all with custom die-cut jackets printed as different mask drawings with “eyes” that change color depending on the orientation of the CD or LP sleeve. Artist Discography: |
 Read all about DD’s exploits in their tour diary here on SEXBEAT Get a taste of the live show here Check out this news story on The
Quietus.
Aural States has a
review of Masks EP. Read it here Double Dagger’s
video No Allies was premiered on NME,
check it out here Pitchfork says "Double Dagger feel fresh and urgent. Each song is like another alarm clock ringing... The EP is both hilarious and furious, poking fun to prove bigger points. - 8.1\" Double Dagger's new EP - Masks is given a 8/10 on Drowned in Sound! Check out the review HERE! Impose magazine has some mighty fine photos of Nolen yelling at people. See the action here! More gets 4/5 stars from Wonka Vision, read it here! More has been voted best album in the Baltimore City Paper for 2009! Read what they had to say here! Check out Post It, a short documentary about Double Dagger and Post Typography from 2007 Double Dagger made a triumphant return to this year's Whartscape Festival in Baltimore. Check out the live video! Check out the brand new video, recently featured on Pitchfork TV . Vivre Sans Temp Mort from their most recent album More Learn about Bruce and Nolen's design studio Post Typography in this great blog. See photos from the Double Dagger record release show at Floristree here!
Read a review and listen to the Floristree show here! Double Dagger record release show, well over 200 people were in attendance! Watch the video here! Get a glimpse of what goes into a Double Dagger performance here! Read some reviews on "More" the new Double Dagger record:
Blog Critics
Citizen Dick
Classical Geek Theatre
Test Pilots
The Mobtown Shank Baltimore City Paper calls new Double Dagger album a phenomenal leap forward Read the complete review, here Check out out this Double Dagger live video @ The 1896 1/30/09 | | |
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