Concert Review: Dads

It is probably because I have been studying emo, but it has occurred to me that Dads would have fit comfortably into the DC origins, like maybe they could play a show with Beefeater. They actually do list emo on their Facebook page, along with indie and punk. That sounds about right, but does not do much to tell you what a show sounds like.

There are only two people on stage: Scott Scharinger on guitar and John Bradley on drums. Sometimes Bradley sings, sometimes Scharinger, but Bradley does most of the talking.

That description may lead you to imagine something stripped down, like the White Stripes, but Dads is nothing like the White Stripes. Their sound is full, and the stage seems full, some of which may be due to Bradley's loose-limbed playing style. I'm not sure if he actually plays so much differently, or if it's just that I don't often get a good look at the drummer, but it was interesting to see, and it worked. The two of them were greater than the sum of their parts.

The music has a fair amount of variation, which I believe comes from a willingness to experiment. This is most evident on Brown on Brown, parts of which remind me of whale songs, and sometimes the ocean, but not generally at the same time. I thought there was effective use of feedback.

My favorite album has been American Radass (This Is Important). It is a bit livelier, though Brush Your Teeth Again ;) is fun to listen to, and has really interesting song structures. For Radass, I especially like the fast pace on "Groin Twerk" and the intro on "Grunt Work (The '69 Sound)".

At this point, there may be a false impression about the prevalence of parentheses in their titles. There is really only one other title that does it, also on Radass. However, it is worth mentioning the titles, because there is a contrast going on, where the titles often sound humorous, but the music sounds very serious. There may be a hint in the Facebook address, but I didn't get the impression that was it either.

The other thing I should mention is that there is some jumping around if you want to make purchases. Music downloads would be through Bandcamp. This is pretty normal, and prices are very reasonable.

If you want CDs, you go through http://www.sswatcher.jp/record/show/1713?p=1&q=dads&a=, but vinyl is through http://flannelgurl.bigcartel.com/product/dads-american-radass-this-is-important-12-inch, and other materials are through http://dads.storenvy.com/. It's probably not a big deal, because I think most music buyers would stick to one format, but it can be a little confusing.

My only other thought is that they should get together with Vinyl Over Wine.

http://wearentdads.com/

https://www.facebook.com/dads420

http://dadsnj.bandcamp.com/

https://twitter.com/wearentdads

UPDATE: Just heard from Dads that Brown on Brown is not them. That means all the better stuff is them, but that also means there are four different entities listed as Dads on Spotify, and they are not well-delineated.