My favorite album of the past year is America, Location 12, by Dispatch. I listen to it two or three times a week. I didn’t listen to the band before this album, and with good reason: I don’t enjoy much of their music. Most of it reminds me of a Phish-influenced version of Sublime. It’s not bad, but it doesn’t really do anything for me.
This new album, though, is incredible; it’s a totally other thing. The Sublime elements are gone. The Phish elements are gone. What we’re left with is Dispatch, a band wholly their own.
My wife, daughter, and I went to see them a couple of weeks ago. We enjoyed the show. It was a nice night out for the family: beautiful weather, friendly tunes, and a welcoming audience. On the way out, however, we decided we probably wouldn’t go see them again, not at $45 a ticket anyway. The music just didn’t make me dance very much, and if I’m not dancing, I’m not paying.
The lack of excitement in their live sound didn’t change how I feel about their album or how excited I am for their future. America, Location 12 was a huge leap for the men in this band, and while I wouldn’t call any of them a genius, their harmonies possess traces of Paul Simon and their lyrics flash with original imagery (my favorite line is, “And we can be like all the fairies making their rain angels in the eddies”). I look forward to hearing their sound and their songwriting evolve.
Thankfully, I can do that in real time. Like many bands today, Dispatch is releasing a new single every few weeks as they build a roster of songs for their next album, already announced as America, Location 13.
The new songs are different from the ones on Location 12. The tunes sound a bit rougher around the edges, but I like them. It’ll be interesting to see if the next album is just an anthology of these singles, or if they produce whole new recordings of them with more time spent in the production booth and more time given to dissect them, ala Wilco’s approach to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. The songs have real potential, but as of now, they still feel half born.
I am eager to hear them come alive.
