CD review - DB and the Catastrophe, Don't Look Back (2010)

Green Day, Blink 182, and a host of other bands have updated punk rock to create a tightly produced, hard driving, pop friendly sound. Local Ft. Collins band DB and the Catastrophe stirs some ska horn into the pop punk mix to create their own sound. A fair chunk of Don't Look Back plays as an homage to Green Day, but the band's personality comes through. Listening to the longer list of tunes on their MySpace page, it's easier to hear the ska influence.

Don't Look Back is a four song EP recorded earlier this year. Leading off with a rallying guitar line, Assault evokes Green Day's American Idiot. The guitars crunch out the rhythm and the backing vocals fall perfectly in place. It's a good start for the EP. It creates energy and urgency right out of the gate.

Pointless continues the driving beat. This time, lead singer Dylan Busby sounds hoarser, giving the song a raw edge. That rawness continues into Broken. The bass work is particularly strong here. Ricky Brown channels John Entwistle's spirit: very melodic and meshing well with the guitar riffs. The flow from song to song builds a live show energy that's hard to capture in the studio.

The disc wraps up with Waiting, which finally features their horn based ska sound. Once again, Brown's bass playing is speedy and fundamental to the success of the song. The band is tight. This is clearly a band I need to catch live. When I do, I'll raise a fine glass Ft. Collins microbrew (Equinox, New Belgium, Odell's, etc).