The Ex

Dizzy Spells (2001)

proletariat

You ever get the feeling after listening to something that's the equivalent of "What the fuck was that?"? That's about what I felt after listening to Dizzy Spells the first time.Their music is pretty much all social commentary, covering topics including the environment, government, and individuality.

The vocalist G.W. Sok has a voice that's somewhat like Jello Biafra but not quite as abrasive and more cartoonish. The lyrics are all very good, mostly consisting of metaphors to get their point across. The guitars scrape and clang like the Gang of Four while the drums sound almost tribal. Also whenever the drummer sings on a few of the songs, she sounds almost like a huskier Bjork, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Now all this wouldn't make a difference to me if it sounded like most other bands, but it totally avoids that rut. These guys are a treasure waiting to be found and I would rank them up there with Fugazi in overall excellence. Songs I would strongly suggest are Town of Stone, Nobodies' Dream, River, and Karaoke Blackout.