Angel Du$t – A.D.

I first heard of Angel Du$t on a message board that by now should be put off life support. Somebody posted their music video for Rage, and the reaction wasn’t all that well. At any point in my life I feel like for every band I get to know, ten more are dropped on me so I didn’t check it out.

Back in December I was spending my first paycheck as a working man, buying records over at Reflections Records. Browsing through the singles, I bumped into the Xtra Raw 7″. I decided to pick it up, because with a name that’s one of the most lethal drugs ever as well as a wink to contemporary hiphop, it should at least be interesting…

And it was. Riding a crooked wave somewhere in the wastelands between punk rock and hardcore, Xtra Raw provided 8 bursts in 11 minutes, filled to the brim with catchy hooks and melodies. You could almost dance to it, but not quite because Angel Du$t’s songs are frenzied, throttling back every now and then, and just when you’ve caught your breath, the songs frantically race on.

Their debut lp is more of the same, which is a good thing. Two of the songs are only 20 seconds long, the only song that reaches over the 2 minute mark is Squeeze, it’s what Oasis would have sounded like if they grew up listening to Gorilla Biscuits. The record speeds on, shifting between fast and really fast, but never cutting back on quality. Melodies are still aplenty, just listen to Big One.

Is this a classic? No, but it’s sure as hell really fun to listen to. I could almost feel the breeze of a summer filled with ups and downs through my hair.

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