Dumb - Club Nites

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. If you've ever felt alienated by club nights, Club Nites is the antidote.