Review / 200 Words Or Less
The Dumpies
Drunk Dial #8

Drunk Dial Records (2021) Loren

The Dumpies – Drunk Dial #8 cover artwork
The Dumpies – Drunk Dial #8 — Drunk Dial Records, 2021

A quick word on the Drunk Dial series. Basically, the label asks bands to get intoxicated, then record an original a-side and a cover b-side.

On #8, we get The Dumpies, who deliver 4 songs at a total runtime of five minutes. It’s fast, catchy and harmonized rough-around-the-edges garage-punk goodness. Take some of your favorite garage bands and speed them up. Take some of your favorite punk bands and add more melody. This meets in the middle, citing Scared of Chaka in the onesheet. It has the speed, but with more harmonies and little more restraint --which may be an ironic description given the Drunk Dial concept. On the b-side, the group covers The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, who I had never heard of previously, but has a ‘60s vibe with potent melodies but played Dumpies-style here.

If you like scrappy DIY punk with pop sensibility, perhaps a bit on the lo-fi side, this should be right up your alley. It’s raw and unproduced, letting the energy rip and roar.

7.5 / 10Loren • July 12, 2021

The Dumpies – Drunk Dial #8 cover artwork
The Dumpies – Drunk Dial #8 — Drunk Dial Records, 2021

Related news

The Dumpies present: Gay Boredom

Posted in Records on September 27, 2024

The Dumpies: new tunes, Indonesia tour

Posted in Records on August 17, 2024

Advertisement

DCxPC 2025

Recently-posted album reviews

Chat Pile

Cool World
Flenser (2024)

The great American experiment has a wide range of experiences, but it tends to focus on the coasts. There are countless dystopian pieces of art, often culling from a Warriors-esque concept of urban grit. Chat Pile play dystopian, brutal noise-punk, but from a distinctly middle American point of view where instead of civilians shadowed under dense skylines, their anonymity instead … Read more

The Anomalys

Down The Hole
Slovenly (2024)

If I have to give the elevator pitch, I’ll call The Anomalys garage rock with an ear for surf and psyche rock -- turned up to 11 and blasted through blown out speakers in an old 1980s sedan. It’s high-energy, no-frills rock ‘n’ roll with attitude. While it’s short, loud and fast, there’s also quite a bit of nuance and … Read more

Pinhead Gunpowder

Unt
1-2-3-4 Go! Records (2024)

Pinhead Gunpowder began in 1990, recording a 7” in 1991. The band last released a 7” in 2008… Until late 2024 when the band returned with the 14-song full-length Unt. So congratulations if you had “we get a new Pinhead Gunpowder record before a new D4 record on your bingo card. (These two bands released a split 7” in 2000 … Read more