Review: The Dirty 9's "Lucy Opus" (*Updated)

A faint synth opening subtly leading to delay soaked drums that sit obediently under wandering guitars as the opening drifts into the first verse, before powering into the into the second part of the first phase. By the way, this The Dirty 9's - and it happens to be rather good.
My attention thus grabbed, "Lucy Opus" - the first single from their debut album Stop Screaming, Start Dreaming - surges into the chorus with the distortion pedal on full, powering through moments of sheer angsty pop/rock.

Normally I would hate, but there is something rather pleasant, yet vital about the way The Dirty 9's have structured this song and the key is in how each part perfectly blends together - the song rolls very nicely through the second verse and chorus and eventually into a subtle and rather acquiescent bridge, before driving once again into the final chorus and outro.
There are touches of Placebo and Manic Street Preachers that float nimbly throughout, yet the band never seem dragged down by those influences; rather a niche has been found and a corner declared.

They have had positive mentions from State.ie and downloadmusic.ie and I think I will add to those. The single , which will be released on Friday November 13th, was produced by Greg Haver, which probably accounts for the Manic's reference, sounds rather fine indeed and the song certainly pumps out high decibels without going overboard.
The Dublin-based 5-piece are still a relatively young band (they've been in existence for only a year) and I would like to hear more in the future, just to see where they go from here.
myspace.com/thedirty9's
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Leigh


(*Updated)
The video for Lucy Opus is below
- Leigh