THE DIRTBOMBS
"I can dance like Sherlock Holmes
I can sing like Sherlock Holmes
But I can't be Sherlock Holmes..."
I can sing like Sherlock Holmes
But I can't be Sherlock Holmes..."
On the opening track of We Have You Surrounded, "It's No Fun Until They See You Cry," band leader Mick Collins enunciates like the Fall's Mark E. Smith. Then, on "Ever Lovin' Man," his Detroit combo turns up the soul heat, much they did on 2001's R&B-infused Ultraglide in Back, before moving on to the minimalist doodle of "Indivisible." And so it goes, all over the Dirtbomb’s map, with bonus compositions from Dead Moon, Sparks, and graphic artist Alan Mooreas ever, their taste in cover material can't be beat. Collins even sings the closer, "La Fin du Monde," entirely en français. With We Have You Surrounded, the Dirtbombs are simultaneously reassessing and exploring, resulting in less of an immediate impact than some of their previous releases, but almost completely eradicating the garage rock tag Collins has never cared for the limitations imposed by that genre. The Dirtbombs play rock. Full stop. Their fourth full-length gives musical schizophrenia a good name. [Kathleen C. Fennessy]
