Vancouver-based punk band
Dumb established there was a large amount of irony in their name when they released their first album for Mint Records,
Seeing Green, in 2018, and that hasn't changed a bit on the follow-up, 2019's
Club Nites. Clever, energetic, overstimulated, and amiably intense,
Club Nites suggests
Dumb are evolving into the 21st century version of
the Embarrassment, a band who bent punk orthodoxy to their own wiry purposes (and remain Wichita, Kansas' greatest contribution to American music). Like
the Embarrassment,
Dumb's take on the world around them is cynical but blessed with a very real wit, and they never make the mistake of believing they're too much cooler than the people who puzzle them. They also know how to write a tune that's catchy without sounding as if they want to play pop tunes;
Club Nites is all buzzing guitars and crashing drums that joyously run at right angles to one another, but somehow these tunes manage to be as engaging as they are challenging, and there's a playful tone in Franco Rossino's blank vocal style that lends a fitting absurdity to the performances. Musically,
Club Nites is a step forward from
Seeing Green without sounding as if
Dumb are trying to remake themselves. They're just getting better, with the taut snap of bassist Shelby Vredik and drummer Pipé Morelli setting the foundation for the sharp six-string interplay between Rossino and Nick Short. Having made a great album with
Seeing Green,
Dumb seem to have instead made a very good one with
Club Nites. This effort lacks the element of surprise that enlivened their previous album and the songs aren't all quite at the same level, but for sheer smart-punk action,
Dumb are clearly still something special.
Club Nites suggests they have plenty more albums worth hearing left in them, and this album deserves a spin on your listening device of choice.