dada
How To Be Found
“Dada is the sun, Dada is the egg. Dada is the Police of the Police.” — Richard Huelsenbeck
Does Huelsenbeck refer to dada the band? Not likely. The word dada normally invokes the spirit of the nihilistic movement, Dadaism, which draws its inspiration from deliberate irrationality, anarchy, and cynicism, while rejecting the traditional laws of beauty. Dada the band on the other hand starkly contradicts the ethos of Dadaism. Dada embrace established sentiments, but unlike innumerable groups who try to celebrate preconceived notions of pulchritude, who come across as crotchety and complaisant, dada surprise the listener with their exciting collision of melody and rock.
How To Be Found
On How To Be Found, dada are back from an extended hiatus, as members of the band sought to alleviate their other individual creative tendencies through various side projects. Despite the layoff, dada the musicians are surprisingly skilled, and the guitar and bass interplay over unique cadences creates an unusually refreshing base from which the vocals launch. The vocals of Michael Gurley and Joie Calio are tight, imaginative, and seemingly spontaneous. Perhaps the nicest thing about this record is dada’s ability to surprise, whether the guitar is switching from chorusey effects to grimy distortions, or swooping backing vocals flying in from nowhere.
The title track is a prime example of fantastic guitar and vocal interplay. This song is almost impossible to pigeonhole as anything other than a stellar song. Meanwhile on “Any Day The Wind Blows” the riffs would make a grandfatherly Page proud. “My Life Could Be Different” is a mellow song that showcases their craft at its finest. The high notes hit simultaneously on the chorus make it all worthwhile. The final cut, “Love Is A Weird Thing”, contemplates a sentiment that almost everyone struggles with, and shows that lyrically dada can be just as strong as they are musically.
On the whole “How To Be Found” is a good comeback album that sets a base for future collaborations to launch from. The guys in dada are great musicians, and merge the varying personalities within the band to create a mix of the mellow and the rock, although at times a commitment to either/or would be more suitable than the danger of falling into the trappings of MOR. Despite this criticism, dada ultimately succeed on a really good record.
Source: LOFI Magazine
