DC Fallout - Retreat

Tracklist:

01. Flavor Of The Week

02. Sweet Irony Of The Market

03. So It Goes...

04. Proposition Hate

05. Shooting Blanks

06. Polarize

07. Taste Of Faith

08. Not Convinced

09. Sign Of The Times

10. Retreat

Released: 08 June 2010
Label: Felony Records
Band web site: DC Fallout facebook profile

Reviewed by: Philip

"Retreat" is the first proper release after the band's move to California and a follow-up to the album "Uprooted and Rotten" from 2006 and it really shows a band that has grown up and found their own style in sound and songwriting. Of course there are references to other and bigger bands from the skate punk genre, but the band can always maintain a unique sound ...the biggest influence is arguably Propagandhi while the melodies sometimes seem to quote Pennywise and older Bad Religion, but one can also find some more "metallic" passages that remind me more of IVS with a bit of 90s skate punk on the top.

When it comes to the music the band shows how they can think past the "2 and half minute-full throttle"-formula that too many bands cling to these days (thinking of Pennywise here). I mean an "average" skate punk song usually tends to be quite short, but on this record you'll only find a single song that clocks in below two minutes (Shooting Blanks) but instead there are a couple of songs that are around four minutes long which gives the album an unusual feeling. And while band does not celebrate their technical abilities you can still find some little highlights on this record, most notably the drum-intro on "Polarize" or the short solo on the fastest, most metallic song of the record: "Shooting Blanks". The only thing left to criticize for me is that despite all greatness some of the songs sound to similar, in my opinion a little more change in the tempo could work wonders here.

Now we get to the most controversial point of this record: the singer's voice. I have shown the album to quite a few people and there were only two completely different points of view. As half of the listeners loved it, the other half claimed the voice would ruin the record ...and it seems there are no opinions in between. Scott Hallquist’s (ex-Raised Under Regan) voice is quite high, clear and always very prominent, a point that is probably the reason for the mixed reception. He might not be the greatest vocalist of the genre, but he shows that can handle the typical "punk shouting" as least well as the more melodic parts which are most prominent towards the end of "Sign Of The Times".

While the lyrics might not be as poetic as in some Propagandhi songs or Bad Religion-style filled with unusual words I always have to look up, DC Fallout proves to be able to write well-crafted songs. Of course they are "punk" but instead of just shouting out cliches slogans like "fuck the system" they take a longer, more detailed look on things. The best example here is maybe the song "So It Goes..." where Scott starts with criticizing todays consume base lifestyle (..."every day is a struggle for status symbols that we can't afford/a bigger home/a second 50' TV"...) but later focuses more on the consequences of our behavior (..."one purchase at a time we're making the mountain of sustainability harder to climb."...). Along with the unusual song structures this really gives me a "propagandhi-esque" feeling, which is quite an honor as I count them to my favorite bands

As a conclusion I have to say that even if DC Fallout didn't reinvent the wheel with this album, it's easily one of the best records in 2010. But if I keep in mind the singer's unusual voice this record - as stated before - is probably something people will either love or hate. But along with the almost perfect production and my personal love for Scott's voice I was thinking about giving it a 5 out of 5 rating for a second, but then again this should be reserved for all time classics and the as record sometimes lacks a bit of diversity I go with a very good 4 out of 5!