Whenever possible, I always like to listen through to albums I’m reviewing without reading the bio or any other info that might influence my opinion. By the second track into Dimmer’s new album, I had them pinned. “This sounds a lot like earnest late 80s/early 90s indie-rock, along the lines of Died Pretty or Straightjacket Fits”, were my thoughts. The further in I got, the stronger that Straightjacket Fits feeling got, almost to the point of beginning to feel indignant that a band should go to such lengths to sound like someone else. Then I began reading the liner notes. “Ohhhhhhhh – Produced by Shayne Carter”. That explains many things. Keeping going, the penny finally dropped – ‘Shayne Carter – Vocals, Guitars, Keys, Bass’. Luckily, nobody was around to witness me wiping the egg off my face.
I was never a huge Straightjacket Fits fan, but I once played in a band with a Straighjacket Fits obsessive, so I knew their sound reasonably well. Shayne Carter was, off course, guitarist, singer and frontman for the New Zealand band. And Dimmer, as ignorant as I’ve been, is the band he’s been heading up for the last 15 years since the Straightjacket Fits finished up. That’s a lot of talk of history for a review for a new album, but it does the job of setting up the context for the sound of Degrees Of Existence. If you are familiar with Carter’s past, then you already know what to expect from the album. The title track starts the album with well produced, guitar based, minor key solidity with a propulsive rock backbone. ‘Comfortable’ introduces a more restrained dynamic with a great guitar lead break that is processed so that it almost sounds like muted brass in places. ‘Can’t Cut Through’ is a highlight as the rhythm strays into straighter motorik territory laying a solid foundation for the fleeting guitar melodies. ‘Wrong Bus’ adds small bursts of trumpet, reversed guitar and stray synth fx to colour the otherwise fairly monochromatic production across the album.
Ultimately I have the same trouble engaging with Dimmer as I always encountered with The Straightjacket Fits – a limited sonic palette without much that wormed into the brain as unforgettable. That said, fans of Shayne Carter’s past will find plenty to enjoy on Degrees Of Existence. The band have stated that they wanted to create a record that sounded like they did live, as a four piece rock band. In this they have succeeded. There aren’t any boundaries being pushed here, but it is solid, reliable and well made.
Adrian Elmer
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