Wednesday, November 6, 2013

REVIEW: Dollar Bar - Paddington Workers Club


Brisbane's Dollar Bar plays crunchy garage rock and blues rock with plenty of fuzz and plenty of pop hooks. And ten of their latest nuggets have just been released via Mere Noise Records on their second LP, Paddington Workers Club.  There is a lo-fi, pub rock vibe, but Dollar Bar cannot be dismissed as one-dimensional.  The musicianship is good, the three alternating vocalists are quite able, and the songwriting is varied and interesting.  And we give bonus points for humor.  While this LP doesn't have a song titled "Cute Girls Have The Best Diseases" (that was on their first record), this set includes "Hipster Mental Ward", "City Pricks Sitting Pretty", "Half the Bottle", and "We Won The War".

To my ears, there is a clear Guided By Voices strain in Dollar Bar's DNA, which makes them a natural for consideration here.  But the quality of their music earns the space on this blog.








Dollar Bar is Dale Peachey, Brendan Rosenstengel, Chris Yates and Patrick McCabe. 

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