Dot Dash - Searchlights

One of the highest compliments I can pay to a band is to write that after listening to their album I immediately want to find a show to listen to live music.  And that is what happens when I listen to Searchlights, the fifth and latest album from DC's Dot Dash.  More so than most rock bands Dot Dash has the ability to record music that manages to be amazingly visceral, evoking the feeling you get standing in front of a stack of speakers in a crowded club on a Saturday night.  With a rhythm section that rumbles like a stream of semis going through your brain at 80 mph, a two-guitar assault and vocals that get more expressive and confident with each outing, Dot Dash always sounds live.  And all that instrumental power provides the vehicle for delivering some great tunes.  With a power pop love of a solid melody and good hooks, and long-time professionals' vocabulary of different rock genres, the four-piece packs Searchlights with fifteen songs that hit you with chunky chords, incisive riffs and pop passages from a wide selection of sub-genres.

Dot Dash hasn't put out a mediocre album yet, but Searchlights is their most complete, consistent and, to my ears, most satisfying.  It appears that a conscious decision was made to increase the rock muscle and leave a few ragged edges.  The result is brilliant, as the approach adds immediacy and punch to the perfectly crafted power pop nuggets.  You can listen to a few examples below, but I strongly suggest putting on your earphones and listening to the entire album at the Bandcamp link.

Dot Dash are Terry Banks, Steve Hansgen, Hunter Bennett, and Danny Ingram.  Searchlights is out now via This Is Beautiful Music.  See the links below, and don't miss the special label offer linked at the bottom of the post.










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Bandcamp for Searchlights
Special offer on Dot Dash music from The Beautiful Music