Music Review: Band of the Week, Dollar Sent

Admit it. In this age of studio wizardry that can make every note perfect, super slick production that seeks to add as much as it can to a lacking base, and multi-million dollar advertisement campaigns designed to fool you into thinking that “it’s a lifestyle and not a pose,” the idea that loud, drunken, boisterous and downright talented rock bands are not only still plugging in, but doing so and giving audiences a reason to cheer and pump their fists into the air, just doesn’t seem possible.

How can a record be good if teenagers calling into MTV don’t say it’s good?

In only twenty-three minutes, Dollar Sent’s self-titled EP rips through all those preconceptions, as well as your eardrums, and shows you that it’s not only possible but happening right now on your stereo. Each and every one of the eight songs on the EP (six original studio recordings and two live tracks, to boot) finds that dark place hiding inside of you that feared all things glorious and heavy about Rock N’ Roll was dead. In fact, it not only finds it but proceeds to sonically blow it away.

Kicking off with the frenetic energy of “Girl From St. Marys,” the CD immediately had me looking in awe at my speakers as the monster riff of “Hey Yeah,” thundered its way into my head. Wow. It has been a long time since a riff has taken hold of my head and forced me to unconsciously head bang to the rhythm of the music, but it was something I eagerly welcomed back.

“Mess of Me,” the third track on the CD, stumbles out of the gate with this wonderful swagger that rides on the amazing voice of singer and lead guitarist, Chris Rizzanski. I’m sure he’s tire of hearing that his voice sounds like a younger version of Lemmy from Motorhead, but to be fair it was probably born by the twin parents of cigarettes and the occasional trip to the bar.

Either way, while it may sound a bit like Lemmy, it’s not a put-on or a copy. Rizzanski just has this wonderfully deep growl of a voice. It fits the band perfectly, by the way.

Following up “Mess of Me” is “The Love,” which chugs along on the heavy-as-hell bass and drum rhythm set up by drummer Sparky Rogers and bassist Loz Serota. As soon as that song finishes, your ears might think that this is usually the part of a CD where the band breaks it down into a ballad or at least a slower song.

Article Author: Michael Jones

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