By Jeffery McNulty
Drunk Dad
Morbid Reality EP
Eolian Empire
When three separate people in the same night ask you if you are headed over to see a band you’ve never heard of you think, “Huh, what’s the deal? They must be good.” Unfortunately, when we walked down from Chop Suey, Drunk Dad was just tearing down from what I heard was another killer set on the Comet stage. Fortunately, they were touring on this record and I had a chance to pick it up. “Morbid Reality” smashes barriers.
If I didn’t know for sure these dudes were from PDX I’d swear they were some lost Austin TX band on Trance Syndicate from the heyday of the early 90’s when Ed Hall and Pain Teens would have been their contemporaries. This is a good thing! Think Butthole Surfers if you haven’t heard of those bands then go online and buy everything on Trance from that time frame including Cherubs.
The Morbid Reality EP is what some might term a little schizophrenic but I appreciate bands that display some range (as long as it’s not the “Blues song/punk song/funk song type of sophomoric bologna… only Big Boys can get away with that!) There is more than enough here to keep me interested and panting after a full length. The production is excellent and full of cool vocal effects, heavy guitar riffs and the kick ass drumming we have grown to expect from Portland bands.
I can not wait to see them live, I am even more sorry to have missed them the last few times they were in town. I’m going online and downloading their first EP ‘The Failhouse’ right now!
(On a different note: I’d like to throw down the gauntlet to all my fellow mastering engineers. Let’s all agree to make two separate masters, one for vinyl and another pass for the digital. The high end on some new records (including this one) is WAY off the charts. May I suggest a listen in some quality ear buds before you bounce?)
http://drunkdad.bandcamp.com/
http://goods.eolianempire.com/product/drunk-dad-morbid-reality
