- Dinosaur
- Medusa (Stone)
- Sick
- Two Of Us (Stuck)
- Ambulance
- Sideways
- Get In Line
- Head In The Clouds
- Hearts Too Wild
- Summer Song
Well, wonder no more, gang, because the Canadian rockers have returned pretty much full-throttle to their old way. Sure, there are a few quirks thrown in for good measure, but this is Theory Of A Deadman; they never do things the easy or straight way, right?
The album's title track kicks things off with a lot of what T.O.A.D. does best--big guitar riffs, big drums, and Connolly's tongue planted firmly in cheek--with this rollicking rocker. I had the chance to see the band on the Rock Resurrection Tour a couple of weeks ago in Omaha (along with St. Asonia and headliners, Skillet), and the band opened the show with this track, with the audience slamming around and throwing their fists in the air as they chanted along to the song's "Hey! Kids! Boys and Girls!" line. Naturally, in typical Connolly fashion, a couple of F*bombs have to be cleaned up for terrestrial radio play, but it is instantly apparent this is the Theory Of A Deadman that fans, such as myself, have been waiting for for a couple of albums now. They even found time to make a humorous video for the track.
"Medusa (Stone)" keeps the snarky rock rolling, reminding me quite a bit stylistically of one of the few great T.O.A.D. songs of the past few years, "Strait Jacket". Lyrically, this is what Theory Of A Deadman has always done--taken one of life's low points and turned it into an instantly relatable rocker. In this case, the low point is the song's protagonist falling in love with the wrong girl (Medusa), who gets him addicted to pills, turns our nice guy hero into a bad boy, then breaks his heart. More of a mid-temp rocker than, say, "Bad Girlfriend" or "Hate My Life", but the chunky rock is all there!
"Sick" is another throwback to old-school Theory Of A Deadman, at least in its lyrical approach and attitude. Similar to "Hate My Life" where Connolly starts things off by being being "so sick of the hobos always begging for change", this new song finds even more things for the singer to be sick of, declaring of his girl's social media addiction, "I'm so sick of the way what you say is so insane" and "sick of the face that you put on every day", finally declaring "I'm so sick of you, you must be sick of you, too." Musically, it's an interesting mix of alternative, Weezer-ish sounding chords, especially on the verse sections, with a bit more aggressive chorus sections. If it sounds out of the norm for Theory, well, it is, but unlike the weak pop-leanings of a lot of the last couple of albums, "Sick" still works in a fun way, largely because the band isn't taking themselves too seriously while experimenting with something new.
"Two Of Us (Stuck)" largely misses for me (my wife loves it), as it slows things way down and takes the original 1980 hit "Just The Two Of Us", and gives it a Theory Of A Deadman twist, turning it into a song about a dark relationship that won't work. It's not that I don't appreciate the humor in what Connolly does here, it's just that it's kind of disruptive to the flow of the album and is unnecessary with so many other really good tracks. It's possible my opinion means little to nothing, however, as the crowd seemed to appreciate it in the live setting. Oh well...it's why the skip button was invented, correct?
Speaking of correcting things, that is exactly what "Ambulance" does next. A repetitive guitar riff opens the track, with the expected ambulance siren screaming in over the top of it before the whole band kicks their way into the mix with a bottom-heavy roar that threatens to blow the speakers out of the doors. Connolly adopts a rap-rock-lite approach on the verse sections that, again, are pure Theory in approach: "Rolling to the club, got my boomstick. Exes heading out the back with their broomsticks." That big, churning rhythm riff returns on the chorus section to drive this uber-fun party rock track before giving way to the simplified verse section in a heavy-relaxed-heavy-relaxed trade-off that gets a bit funky in spots. Definitely one of the high points of a really strong record.
"Sideways" is a mid-tempo number that Connolly drops some nice piano work into. The typical Theory subject of a broken relationship is actually given a serious treatment here, as the song is about a breakup that the singer is actually not okay with...and it works. Connolly has always been able to add a good dollop of emotion to his lyrics when he chooses to, and "Sideways" is a perfect example of one of those times.
"Get In Line" returns things to hard-rocking mode for the band with a vicious hook and so-simple-it's catchy chorus, and does exactly what it is supposed to do...gets you up and slamming around! "Head In The Clouds" is a charming, mid-tempo, feel-good rocker that has a bit of a modern country bent to it without going full-Nashville. "Hearts Too Wild" also has something of a country tinge to its musical coloring, but it's catchy enough that it works pretty darn well and has that top-down, Summer cruising kind of feel to it.
Fear not, folks, as Theory Of A Deadman knows exactly why you are here, and they deliver with the rollicking album-closer, "Summer Song". Nope...not a song about Summer, the season, but a song about Summer, the wild party girl who is the obsession of the lead singer. Things start out great for the couple, but by the end of the track, the protagonist realizes he has forsaken his friends and everything he loved to do all for the sake of Summer, adding in that elemental twist that you've come to expect from Theory Of A Deadman.
Look, the guys don't reinvent rock here, nor do they try to. They just do what they've (mostly) always done, which is examine life through the eyes of a blue-collared, Average Joe, who loves to party, hates his job, loves his woman...until she wants to kill him (or he wants to kill her)...and just wants to throw down at a good old rock n roll show every now and then. Dinosaur is a strong, expletive-filled return to what the boys have been doing pretty much non-stop since they hit the scene in 2002, and certainly since their breakthrough albums Gasoline and Scars & Souvenirs. It's not high-brow, better-than-you rock; this is music that is open to anyone and everyone that wants to party along with the band!
Rating: Dinosaur returns the Canadians to crankable territory, with their best album since Savages! Crank this to 8.
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