Dillinger Four - C I V I L W A R

Okay so here's the promised (albeit late) review of Dillinger Four's latest album:

Dillinger Four are a bit of an enigma in the punk scene, or they are if like me you live on the wrong side of the world or outwith Minnesota. They don't play too often, one of them is a doctor, one owns a bar. I don't know if they've ever come to play over here, I don't think they have.
C I V I L W A R is D4's fourth album, the last album they put out was 2002's Situation Comedy. Now I'm not going to lie to you, this review is biased right away, I like Dillinger Four. I've liked them since I first heard them in 2002. However, I just liked them, I didn't love them. They weren't one of my favourite bands. Then I heard C I V I L W A R.
To say that this is a good album is an understatement. To say its one of the best albums of the year is also an understatement. It's quite simply one of the best punk records I've ever heard.
Around the time I started listening to Dillinger Four in 2002, I was absolutely besotted with a Californian gruff punk band called Jawbreaker. I still am, At the ripe age of 22 I don't think I'm going to hear bands as good as Jawbreaker, The Clash and The Replacements ever again. All of those bands were gone by the time I was 10 years old. My dad always said I was born a few decades too late, I'm inclined to believe him at the best of times. Anyway, about Jawbreaker. In 1994 Jawbreaker released 24 Hour Revenge Therapy. It is, in my opinion the greatest record of all time. Everything about 24 Hour Revenge Therapy just oozes emotion, you can hear in Blake's voice that he means every single word. Every instrument sounds like its being beaten to hell, and not in an unlistenable way, Jawbreaker were an incredibly melodic band. A lot of the stuff on the following album could have made them really "successful" if they wanted.
Another favourite album of mine is Mush, its by another gruff punk band called Leatherface, who are from Sunderland. The first time I heard Mush was about four years ago when I played a few tracks of it and just knew if I listened to the whole thing I'd fall in love. So I did, and I did. The next year or two was a whirlwind of trying to get everybody I knew to hear this album. I had limited success, but I had some success. I turned a couple of friends onto Jawbreaker and Leatherface, and over time they grew to feel the same way about both bands music, although maybe without as much enthusiasm as myself.
So anyone reading this (anyone!?) is probably wondering why the hell I'm talking about Jawbreaker or Leatherface whilst reviewing the new D4 record. Here's why: C I V I L W A R is one of those records. Within 30 seconds of the first track, "A Jingle for The Product." I just knew. Anyone who has listened to Dillinger Four in the past knows they're really fast, heavy and their lyrics are often subtly political and really cutting. This album isn't too different lyrically, but its a little slower, its a little more melodic, and while I do love all the albums before this, none are quite as good as this. "Gainesville" is a strange one for D4, its like a love song for autumn. I can almost imagine it becoming a punk rock anthem. The chorus is ultra catchy, I was away for a few days after first hearing it and I couldn't get the damned chorus out of my head. I was desperate to get home and listen to it one more time.
I feel maybe I should talk about the album track by track but I don't want to spoil it. All you need to know is track for track this record is marvellous. It's one of the best punk rock record's of all time. It's out on the 10th October in the UK (I don't know when in the US, probably earlier) and if you consider yourself even a passing fan of punk rock, or rock music in general, I urge you to treat yourself and go out and get it.