The DSC Project

Very Number One (2003)

Greg

This Florida rock outfit has a sound that is hard to pin down. At times they are power pop, then all of a sudden there is Coalesce style screaming, then there is a Foo Fighter's style ballad. What the hell? I can't label them if they won't stay in one place. But seriously though, genre jumping is something I approve of. While this album didn't grab me terribly, the twists were enough to keep my interest. The lingering sound the album leaves is something like maybe Finch or The Used, but again, I think these guys take more departures from that popular sound.

Track three "Break Up Break Down" is a great pop song, and obviously the band knows it because they submitted it to Asian Man and landed a spot on Underground Screams, the label's recent unsigned band compilation. The song has stop and go guitars in the verses with quick-tongued lyrics over the gaps, and the chorus reminds me of the Smoking Popes – not vocally, but the fact that such a catchy melody is over a riff with a more odd chord progression than most pop tunes.

However, there are a few songs on here that make this band seem really immature. "Having Sex with You" for example… need I say more? If you name a song this, it should be over the top and hilarious, which it is not. And then there is "Mars," with it's message that the planet is not suitable for him because it doesn't have The Simpsons and Grand Theft Auto. While these are two things that I enjoy, I would never put them in a song. It just seems lame unless a band is playing that nerd angle (aka Nerfherder). Plus, they also mention the band itself and it's members, something that might fly with their local crowd, but will turn off any new listener as being too self-centered.

The majority of the tracks I enjoy- the other high points of the album being the opener "Go Getter" with it's minor and (sometimes chromatic) chord progressions, driving tempo and appropriate screaming levels. "Snake in the Grass" has mellow verses and then kicks it into high gear, just to go back again. There is also a hilarious-at-first-then cool half scream half sob in the second verse when he says "All I wanted was to love, to know that I could trust you." This song pulls off the pop/scream mix well.

This band needs to decide to take the silly road of a band with lyrics like The Vandals, or else drop all the childish bits. The music is not half-bad due to unique progressions and frequent stylistic changes. I can't see this getting into my regular CD rotation, merely because it's just not up my alley, it might be for you.