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Sick Puppies

Dressed Up As Life

Written by: TL on 23/05/2007 01:56:00

Now here's an album that has taken me COMPLETELY by surprise - but more on that later. First off, in some strange and elusive way I can't help being reminded of The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus when I listen to it, and that makes no sense, because where RJA is an emo/screamo/pop-punk fusion, the first band that comes to mind when listening to Sick Puppies is.. Well.. Nickelback?!

Indeed, my immediate reaction to the band's debut album "Dressed Up As Life" was quite filled with contempt as my thoughts quickly flew to bands like Staind and Three Doors Down. However, over the past couple of weeks I've found myself listening to this album again and again, and even now I still don't think it'll leave my headphones in the near future. Why? Because even though the sound of this band is that of classic pseudo-grunge alternative American radio-rock, this album does not become boring for a second. If you pay attention while listening, every single song on it is simply littered with small details that would never be present on the usual mainstream get-famous-quick kind of record.

I'm talking about the screams that appear for a second in opener "World". No, actually, I'm talking about all the sudden outbursts of vocalist Shimon Moore, who extends the usually bland vocal style of this genre to contain a surprising amount of emotions like bitterness and anger. Every song comes with kickass guitarriffs, catchy choruses and enough compositional acrobatics to keep people with even the shortest of attentionspans entertained. Thus the resemblance to RJA becomes clear, as similar to their debut album, every song on this album just works. Every song on this album has its own identity. Every song on this album surprises you more or less. My favourites are the ones listed in the 'For The Fans Of' section but really you should just try any one of them. As long as you remember to listen with an open mind and rid yourself of your prejudice about bands sounding mainstream like this, I see no reason for you not to like them. It's about as untrendy as you can be in the music business today, but nevertheless, it still kicks ass.

Download: All The Same, Asshole Father, Cancer, The Bottom
For the fans of: Filter, Staind, Nickelback,
Listen: MySpace

Release Date 19.05.2006
Virgin Records