Madman in the Rain, the new album from Washington DC-based Dot Dash is out now!
Recorded at New York City’s Renegade Studios and produced by Grammy-winning Geoff Sanoff, Madman in the Rain features 12 new Dot Dash songs available on CD from is here at TBM.
Among them, lead-off track “Forever Far Out” might have come from an imaginary mixtape, made circa Fall 1985 (also appearing: Wire Train, Miracle Legion, Dumptruck.) “Space Junk, Satellites” is a samba-ish reverie that likens stars to hollow jewels and contemplates the moon reflected in shallow pools. “Tense & Nervous” is a two-minute banger. Spectral incantation “Animal Stone” considers criminals & saints (and animals & stones.) Title track “Madman in the Rain” is part glammy torch song, part indie-rock chugger. “Wokeupdreaming” was written while sleeping.
WASHINGTON POST: “Everything we’ve ever read about Dot Dash plays up the group’s collective resume: Singer/guitarist Terry Banks was in St. Christopher and the Saturday People before teaming up with bassist Hunter Bennett in acclaimed indie-rock band Julie Ocean and drummer Danny Ingram co-founded harDCore band Youth Brigade. Very impressive. But we’re more interested in the music, a retro cocktail that recalls the yearning indie-pop of Sarah Records; the ’80s neo-Byrds jangle of R.E.M., Orange Juice and other seminal college radio artists, and tight, throbbing basslines and slashing guitars that evoke the Jam and the Clash.”
Along the way, Dot Dash has played shows with The Undertones, The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The B-52s, Richard Lloyd (ex-Television), The Monochrome Set, The Minus 5 (ex-Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M.), The Psychedelic Furs, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, 999, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Chameleons, The Dickies, Ash, Hugh Cornwell (ex-Stranglers), Stiff Little Fingers, The Vibrators, The Fleshtones, Glen Matlock (ex-Sex Pistols), Urge Overkill, The Drums, Ian Hunter (ex-Mott The Hoople), The Bats, Ultimate Painting, The Trashcan Sinatras, The Clientele, Sylvain Sylvain (ex-New York Dolls), Drivin’n’Cryin, The Godfathers, The Nude Party, Country Westerns, Frankie Rose, The Empty Hearts (ex-Blondie/The Cars/Romantics/Chesterfield Kings), D.O.A., Field Day (ex-Dag Nasty), Wussy, The Essex Green, Matt Pond PA, Moon Duo, Terry Malts, Soulside, Jack Grisham (TSOL), Apollo 66, Wax Idols, Office of Future Plans, Allo Darlin’, Tommy Keene, Adam Franklin (Swervedriver), The Explorers Club, Chris Stamey (ex-dB’s), Miss Lonelyheart, Elf Power, X__X (ex-Rocket From The Tombs, Electric Eels), Ladybug Transistor, The Supersuckers, Lee Bains & The Glory Fires, Bim Skala Bim, Stevie Jackson (Belle & Sebastian), Eternal Summers & lots of other rocking combos.
Madman in the Rain is available as a digipak CD directly below or on the store page.
The album will also be available as a digital download from Bandcamp at dotdashdc.bandcamp.com – and is streaming on Spotify.
Madman in the Rain
Dot Dash
Beauty 054
$15.00 CDN
“It’s a rare thing to find a song that really makes you happy, inspires you and makes you want to shout out, at the top of your voice about the wonderful discovery so that everyone else can enjoy it too. Like the song by Gang of Four that provides the title of this sampler, we hope that we have gathered that rare essence in these 20 songs that will bring you that same excitement” – We feel this is the best compilation around so join us for the ride and please find some further details about the songs below & why not visit their Bandcamp page and support the bands and treat yourself to some more wonderful tunes. A huge thanks to all the bands and musicians that gave us permission to use these songs. – Wally
Thirty years in the making and it is finally here, and we are so excited to be finally releasing the long-anticipated debut album by The Dupont Circles, a band that has been lost in time, but are now ready to be rediscovered. We have been working on this album for about five years and the recordings span a period of about 30 years. They were formed originally as The Spills in 1988 in Washington D.C. and morphed into The Dupont Circles, with their early recordings dating back to several rare 7” singles on the Cara Records label – “Sarah The Weather Girl” in 1995 and “The 53 Bicycles EP” in 1998 and after that several appearances on compilations, on some pretty cool labels like March Records, Planting Seeds Records, Japan’s Rover Records, and Italy’s Lost In Tyme label, not to mention a contribution to our very own Television Personalities tribute series.
This is a very exciting release for the Beautiful Music label, when you get to release an album by two extremely talented musicians, whose careers you have followed for years. So what happens when you combine the talents of the queen of power pop, Lisa Mychols AKA Ellie, on the sunny west coast of the USA, with the talents of pop maverick, and one of the most productive musicians, across the ocean in Scotland, Paul Ryan, aka Trip, aka SUPER 8? Well let me tell you, it’s the soundtrack of your Summer, The Hit of Summer 2020 and an album you will return to year after year! These Sun-drenched melodies, just conjure up images, of sandy beaches, surf boards, shiny cars, crashing waves and beautiful people. It’s here, a Summer Smash (sort of like Denim‘s Summer Smash, but without the car crash), an album to cherish and love & blast on the car speakers with the roof down. Estella from Fadeaway Radiate, described their single Honey Bee as “a must for lovers of sunshine pop, northern soul and the sound and aesthetics of the 60’s in general. The song is a groovy feel-good tune with lush layers of sprightly harmonies”. The whole album, carries on in a similar theme, and I dare you to get these songs and melodies out of your head, once lodged there. This is what timeless music is made of.
musician, that is just waiting to be discovered. Some may recognize the name as the person behind the wonderful band Play People who first recorded two EP’s on the brilliant This Almighty Pop! label run by a person with impeccable taste, Stephen Maughan (of Bulldozer Crash, Kosmonaut and The Memory Fades) and a 7” single on another highly regarded label Cloudberry Records (run by Roque Ruiz, who is one of the most knowledgeable people in the indie pop world). So already with a pedigree like that, you know it is going to be excellent and we are immensely proud to have it as a Beautiful Music release.
there appears to be quite a lot more going on in the music of these songs and Lloyd isn’t that easily pigeonholed. The release starts off with “Lost & Lonely” in a beautiful, meandering, dreamy Beatles influenced song with hints of “Strawberry Fields Forever” and then picks up a bit with some mid 70’s soft rock / easy listening, lounge moods sneaking in, but it’s Lloyd’s vocals that tear at your heartstrings but inspire hope when he sings lines like “leave me down here on my own” & “the suns coming up”. However, it’s what follows, the amazing “OXFORD Guitar Club” with its hints of New Order meets The Jazz Butcher, with a bit of an Altered Images guitar feel that really hooked us. We won’t give our impressions on all the songs, as we would prefer you make your own, but suffice to say Lloyd keeps that beautiful momentum going all the way through these songs. This is a brilliant mini LP/EP, in our opinion, but we prefer you made your own opinions.
Just who are The Irony Board & why have we not heard of them before? Information about the band is quite scarce, but we do know that they had a song featured on one of Firestation Records legendary “The Sound Of Leamington Spa” series (Volume 7), which in itself automatically gives them some street cred., as Firestation Records are certainly one of the purveyors of great taste in this modern era. We also know that a published novel, “Capturing The Wry”, was written about the band, this book written by John Hartley (aka Johny Nocash) chronicles the crazy and fascinating story of the trials and tribulations of his unsigned band The Irony Board. That book, which is highly recommended, was endorsed by Merric Davidson (editor of Toppermost.co.uk) and Steve Williamson (EIO40 kingpin), and several members of the Trash Can Sinatras, making this story even more intriguing. Initial copies of the book were accompanied by a free bonus CD, of studio recordings, of the tracks featured within the book. That however is just the tip of the iceberg.
