CD: Self Titled Artist: Dirt Bags Don’t Die Label: Self Released Rating: 3.5/5 Best Song:Darkness Reviewer: Cole Faulkner

I’ve said it before, but sometimes you just know when a band gets “it.”  It doesn’t matter how amateur their act is or how scratchy their production sounds because infectious energy knows no bounds.  As of late I’ve reviewed a variety of unremarkable punk acts, some less promising than the others, but all clearly working their collective asses off to realize their goals. 

Park, Utah’s Dirt Bags Don’t Die stands apart from the crowd.  Their self-titled debut full-length hooked me from the get go, and I honestly can’t get enough of blasting this thing in my car on the way to work. Yet, they sound like they couldn’t be bigger slackers, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they just “winged it” during their studio time, cracking open some beers and playing whatever came to mind.  But I suppose when you can move between punk, blues, rock, and just about every other bar-friendly genre out there, you don’t need to worry about anything aside from letting the music flow.  Heck, even their cover art looks like it was drawn on the backside of a napkin at 3:00 in the morning at Denny’s while downing a Grand Slam.

The album kicks off with the super catchy guitar chords of “Darkness” and pull of strained raspy vocals.  The trio (Matt, Terry, and Dan) trade off vocal duties on a track-by-track basis, but whoever leads the album is probably my favourite of the bunch – but they each have their own draw.  Like how the mean-faced street punk of “Suckerpunch” nails that whole sloppy Rancid-esque style, or how “Caribbean Smile” settles into a slick reggae groove without as much of a hiccup.  Versatility is the name of Dirt Bags Don’t Die’s game, casually inserting killer guitar solos alongside goofy drinking tunes like “Puke,” belting their lewd sense of humor, and even tackling the world of poolside 50’s jazz (“I Remember”).

I doubt Dirt Bags Don’t Die even know what they have, and based on the sound of it, it’s probably best kept that way (to keep them from sobering up).  If you miss the days of discovering quality garage acts that rest on the their own laurels rather than from the support of behind the scenes players, then Dirt Bags Don’t Die is a band that overcomes all of their limitations (including their horrible band name) and that you need to check out.