DEAD BARS - ‘All Dead Bars Go To Heaven’

Straddling rock and punk, the Dead Bars provide a scuzzy musical marriage made in heaven for fans of The Replacements and early Soul Asylum. However, while ‘All Dead Bars Go To Heaven’ would suggest they could musically match these illustrious bands, they do more than simply replicate what has gone before (no matter how good), bring in other influences, inject their own originality and produce new music which is raucous, melodic, fun and quite different to much other music coming through at this time.

Put on to their music by an online friend in Denmark, with a great taste in music, I hadn’t heard of the Dead Bars or any of their music until a few months ago, since when I have been listening to their music heavily.

So, who are they? Formed over ten years ago by John Maiello, originally from New Jersey and a drummer who stepped out from behind his kit and picked up the guitar to become their singer and main songwriter, this is the Dead Bars’ third album. While the Dead Bars’ website and socials didn’t have much information, they’ve had a band membership which has changed over the years and now appears to have settled on a line-up of John Maiello, Elliot Thordarson, Will Smokett, Jon Oddo and Rosie Gonce.  

Featuring ten songs and clocking in at under 30 mins, this is very much in three-minute (or sub three-minute) territory … cue my happy face.

The opening track and first single, “I Wanna Be a Ghost”, starts off with solid drumming and then scuzzy guitars layering up, over which John’s raw and impassioned vocals soar and deliver a chorus to which many of us will have related at some point, “I wanna be a ghost tonight, I wanna party with my friends on the other side, Gonna come back tomorrow seeing you’re alright, I wanna be a ghost tonight”.  

The throttle is turned up for “Last Call Alarm” which snarls out of the speakers, but while being more of a faster punk tune and a lyrical wake-up call for us all, the melodies and hooks beloved by the Dead Bars are never far away.

“I Live Here Now” accepts the songwriting challenge laid down by the opening tracks and provides a multi-layered fuzzy song with a chorus straight out of Hooksville … once heard, difficult to let go of. “Wait So Long” follows with an almost Oasis-leaning vocal delivery, melody and attitude, before “Underground” takes us to the end of side 1 (if listening on vinyl) or to the middle of the album (if not) and provides another reminder of why the Dead Bars are so different - opening with a crushing and grinding riff which doesn’t relent and provides an anchor to stop the sing-song chorus from soaring too high and away. In the hands of other more mainstream pop/punk bands this song could have had “hit” written all over it, but in a much more polished form which would have been required to reach mass market; instead, the Dead Bars stick to what they do and deliver a masterclass in wonderful sludgy punk/pop – without compromising their music.

“Valentine Heart” provides the sole song about love and heartbreak on the album, but a ballad it ain’t … providing a fast, frenetic and truly life-affirming song. Yes, I know “life-affirming” has been used by others to describe their songs, but if the description is accurate why try to say something else?

“Bad Life” is unexpected and just stunning. Showing they don’t always need a fuzzy guitar, a raw vocal is delivered over just bass and strings providing a truly unique alt song. “Missed Connection” is much airier and lyrically wonders about if there is still a special person out there waiting to meet.

And as the album draws to a close, second single “Give the Metalhead a Hug” celebrates the warmth in metal/rock communities with a looping, rolling song in the nature of “Steal Your Sunshine” or “Teenage Dirtbag”, based largely around the line of “Give the metalhead a hug” being repeated after every couple of lines … and while fun, be assured that the big fuzzy guitars are never far away.

Having delivered almost 25 minutes of wonderful music, the Dead Bars could have been forgiven for ending with a lesser song. Instead, they saved the best for last in the form of ‘Be Me’. With an almost acapella vocal, sung over just a bass line for a full 45 seconds, the song builds into another affirmative shout-out loud song, aided by, yes, big guitars and an anthemic, spiralling line of “goes on and on and on” which 99% of bands may have been tempted to milk and extend ad infinitum. Instead, the line and the song suddenly stops dead and ends after just over two minutes. Having the confidence not to do what others would have done and doing their own thing. Wonderful stuff.

There is so much more that I could write, but I’ve written enough for you to get the picture. Let’s just end by saying – give them a listen and the Dead Bars might just be one of the best bands you’ve not yet heard of.

GMcA