Coming off a powerhouse debut album (Remember When) and a massive amount of successful touring, suburban Chicago garage rockers The Orwells have just dropped their sophomore piece, Disgraceland. A nod to both trailblazing rockers and a childhood dream of some of the bandmates, the album is a dynamic representation of its title — the boys display a revival of revered rock of the past, a nostalgia for past hopes and ambitions, and a dark fear for the future. Oh yeah, and a bunch of disgraceful teenage hoodrat shit like beer and weed and ass and titties.
Disgraceland has two distinct sides to it. The first is fun, carefree tales of youth excursions and coming-of-age mischief. “Southern Comfort,” “The Righteous One,” “Dirty Sheets,” “Bathroom Tile Blues,” and “North Ave.” all portray The Orwells as kids right out of high school enthused by life as young rock stars and all the sex, drugs, and mania that come with it. The other side of Disgraceland shows frontman and lyricist Mario Cuomo’s dark side — stemmed either by deep rooted psychological issues or an infatuation with ’90s horror films. “Gotta Get Down” and “Blood Bubbles” are nausea-inducing suicide stories and “Norman” is the tale of an unremorseful murderer. “Who Needs You,” the standout single of the album that’s snagged Chicago alternative radio time and an infamous David Letterman performance, is an anarchy anthem and a chart topping “fuck you” to the United States bureaucracy.
The sounds of Disgraceland range from ’60s surf-punk doo-wops to dizzy psychedelics but are consistently backed by electric lead melodies by guitarists Matt O’Keefe and Dominic Corso and a strong rhythm section carried by brothers Henry (drums) and Grant (bass) Brinner. The irony of The Orwells can be seen in their instrumentals — a band which does all it can to front a careless, shithead persona has one of the tightest and most mature sounds of today’s rock music.
By catching the ear of production hotshots Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys) and Dave Sitek (TV on the Radio) for Disgraceland, the band gains heavy credibility and professionalism yet loses the grit that comes from being a brand new garage rock band made by the kids for the kids. By listening solely to Disgraceland, the audience could never comprehend the absolute electricity seen in an Orwells live show.
With its anecdotal lyrics and cleaned up production, Disgraceland is a fantastic listen and an excellent representation of the growth of one of punk rock’s strongest groups right now.
Disgraceland