Posted: by The Editor
Wrapped up in a thick haze that could come from either the early morning sun or the mental fog from last night’s party, the songs on Dart Trees’ Consider Two Beers seem to be infused with the scent of stale lagers and half-smoked joints. It’s the kind of sleazebag slacker rock that works best when the group brings a sense of fun to the songs about drinking too much, playing video games for days, and ignoring the doctor’s advice to get “stone cold baked” in the middle of the day. Luckily, Consider Two Beers feels more like the boost that gets your hungover ass off the couch than it does a juvenile smoke and booze filled embrace of debauchery, with Dart Trees creating a light, endearing sound from the interplay of the unadorned trebly rhythm guitar and subtle lead lines.
The group stays in a hazy garage rock lane for much of the EP with “Headass” kicking things off in a bouncy way as Nick Baker repeats lines like “get your head out your ass / I got this coffee cup to the left and that’s where I’ll ash / give me some time to work it out / it’d be a whole lot easier without your help.” On “Bong & Mcquade,” they go with a more psychedelic ’60s feel, while album closer “Mad Mike Hughes” finds the lead guitar at its most active amidst the album’s cloudy atmosphere.
It’s where the group pushes the tempo either way where Consider Two Beers gets most interesting, though. “Jim Watson You’ve Had It Too Good For Too Long” cranks the pace up just enough to stick out with Baker in hungover stream-of-conscious mode, delivering lines like “oy vey, get out of my way / it’s 10 AM, I guess I’ll chug a gatorade” and “it’s another long day and I’m feeling like shit / guess I’ll take another drag and toke another hit” alongside some fun hand claps. Equally enticing is the burnout ballad “Lazarus Of Cryville,” which grows from the sparse opening of “I’ve been drinking chamomile tea / cuz they said it helps with my anxiety / the doctor says I’m smoking too much weed / and that I’m getting dumb” into a feature for the lead guitar tastefully hanging overtop of the slow-dance sway of the rhythm section.
Consider Two Beers is on streaming services tomorrow, but you can listen a day early here.
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Aaron Eisenreich | @slobboyreject
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