All the way back in 2014, Dead To Me announced that Jack Dalrymple had returned to the band and that they would release their fourth full-length, American Son Of Cholo. The album has yet to be released, but in 2016 the group released the I Wanna Die In Los Angeles EP, which was and still is absolutely fantastic. Dead To Me was back in full force in the studio and on the road. By 2018, American Son Of Cholo still hadn’t been released, but in the early months of that year Dead To Me did give us glimpse into what they had been working on. They released two amazing tracks that showed that their song writing had been taken to the next level.



“Fear Is The New Bliss” was first of the two to be released. Lead guitarist Ken Yamazaki rocks a bright lead that immediately sets the upbeat tone for the rest of the song. Chicken Annicharico’s vocals are front center for the majority of the verses during the first half. While Dead To Me fans may immediately think of his masterful yelling in songs like “By The Throat” and “I Wanna Die In Los Angeles,” in this tune his singing is softer, more melodic, and bit more reigned in. For the choruses, Chicken, Ken, and Jack all join in for incredibly catchy, gang-vocal style singing while Ian brutally hits the hi-hat. Jack Dalrymple takes over lead vocals for the second half of “Fear Is The New Bliss” and to absolutely no one’s surprise, he totally kills it.



“Would It Kill You?” shows a different side of Dead To Me that we haven’t heard much of before. It’s one of the band’s darker, slower, and more melancholy tunes. It’s starts off with some shiny guitar notes, but then Chicken’s heavy and highly distorted baseline just crashes in and carries the majority of the song. This time Jack sings the leads during the verses, which leads up to the pre-chorus where whole band screams “WOULD! IT!” over big bangs from the drums and pounded chords from the guitars. When the chorus kicks in, “Would It Kill You?” picks up a bit more speed and it’s where Jack’s singing gets noticeably higher-pitched. The outro acts as a grand finale of sorts for this track where the members of Dead To Me do this call-and-response singing technique over thunderous drums and hard-hitting guitars.



It’s been about five years since these tracks were released and they still absolutely rock. American Son Of Cholo still hasn't come out and sadly the band isn’t active these days. I thought that the 2022 vinyl reissue of Cuban Ballerina could  have been a signal that American Son Of Cholo would be on its way and that Dead To Me would make yet another triumphant return. I have full faith that they could do it though. But for now at least we have two stellar tracks, “Fear Is The New Bliss” and “Would It Kill You?,” to give us some hope.



You can listen to these songs here and here.