Dads

Pretty Good [EP] (2013)

RENALDO69

Dads (the band) rock. No need for the classic intro here. Pretty Good is more than pretty good and take note, it's four tracks meant to kick your ass. John Bradley (drums) and Scott Scharinger (guitars) are the duo that make up Dads and their alternating vocals subtly add strength to this EP. You're in for a treat.

"My Crass Patch" lulls with haunting drums and guitars until about about 1:20, with the vocals proving to be such a sweet complementary device. When the track explodes at around the 3:00 mark, the drums are purely mindblowing. The melodic chaos is remarkable. In an immediate contrast, "Can I Be Yr Deadbeat Boyfriend" is glossed with a more upbeat and pop-punkish rhythm, and it's a marvel how this two-man army pulls this off with such ease.

The New Jersey-based duo breath familiarity into these four tracks, as short as they are, and segue into an alternative tempo, with a summer-poppy riff in "Boat Rich." The EP swings so much in such a short amount of time, from panic to anxious to lively, and hearing these intentional moves do nothing but place Dads in high regard. They really hold nothing back, cutting loose as they see fit. Seeing a band entrench themselves in such a widespread collage of music, at their own discretion, really proves that it's good to be distracted by another genre from time to time.

Dads are an all-around band and "No We're Not Actually" shows why their structure is so solid. It's a ballad that builds steadily to yet another remarkable crescendo laced with emotional wreckage. It certainly leaves a mark that'll be on my speakers for quite some time.