Chicago, hog butcher to the world, is still a hotbed of killer post-punk. Never mind
Liz Phair and
the Smashing Bumpkins, it's the mid-'80s
Big Black/
Naked Raygun/
Effigies/Breaking Circus/Bloodsport sound that still holds water for the best bands in town. On
Dank it comes back like time travel: harrowing, punishing, uncompromising blue-collar, no-bullsh*t rock, with harsh rhythms and brutal guitars. You don't need the hint that the lashing Joe Haggerty of
Pegboy (and before that, Bloodsport) sits in on drums for two songs -- you can just feel the gleefully menacing but briskly played slam over the head. It's that caustic treble-bass from
the Stranglers, the mammoth guitars of
Killing Joke via
Buzzcocks, the jagged rhythms of
Gang of Four, and the brains of early
Wire. Even though
Dummy covers
the Left Banke's 1966 number five hit, the Baroque pop jewel "Walk Away Renee," this trio is about chops and cranking out a tightly reigned cacophony. Singer/bassist Mark De Rosa has the clearly enunciated gruff-shout-singing down, and you can tell that he and slamming drummer
Scott Kinsey and guitarist John Barnicle must grab gigs by the throat. Tight, angry, corrosive, but full of slamming, raspy riffs and big-chorus bursts like "Venom Spit" and "In Chelsea" (the soaring standouts), these guys will hopefully start a revolution in their metropolis and kick the pretenders back out the door. If so, tell 'em not to let the door hit their pretentious asses on the way out. (
[email protected]) ~ Jack Rabid