A drummer starting a solo project called "the Dani Band Traveling Band" probably isn't the best way to combat all the dumb drummer jokes out there but here I am reviewing this EP. At least Dani seems to operate with a certain modesty, eschewing the common self-indulgent hyperbole found in press materials and band websites. In fact, he describes his own talents with "I'm not the best guitarist...or bassist...or vocalist...or recording engineer...but hey, I'm a drummer. Give me a break." For someone basically asking the listener to set their expectations low, Shut Up &Go Die! actually isn't that horrible.

DBTB's style would broadly fall under the pop-punk umbrella but as Dani explains on his Bandcamp he experimented a lot with song structure as well as recording techniques. What ends up coming out reminds me a little bit of J Church, which in case you didn't know is never a bad thing. If you are going to do pop-punk though, brevity is more often than not a virtue and three out of the five tracks on the album are over four-and-a-half minutes long, so things drag. There is switch between the first and second parts in "Chameleon" that is likely designed as a way to freshen the song up but they sound like separate pieces of music instead of a whole with many parts. There are some unexpected turns in the progressions and neat guitar tones but nothing original enough to save these disgusting song lengths.

Despite a lack of dynamics or coherency, Dani's songwriting does show some talent. I can't completely dismiss the album even when it goes off on a particularly ill advised excursion to the realm of skacore on "Boozehound." There is is still something redeemable in the riffs even when they are playing something a little dated and played out. Yet, the tuneless wailing in parts of "Chameleon" shows that Dani really could have used other players to help bring his ideas together.

Shut Up & Go Die isn't the worst idea a drummer has ever had but it doesn't have a whole lot of replay value. At the very least the drumming is pretty solid throughout and I think with the right musicians Dani's songs could be turned into something really enjoyable instead of just an interesting listen.