“Are you ready?” chants the opening track Keep it Heavy, and honestly, it doesn’t matter if you answer yes or no because Dust Star are coming at you full-speed regardless. This is the sound of Cameron Wisch (Cende, Soft Surface) and Justin Jurgens (Ingrates, Seely Jurgens Band) deciding that their 2022 debut Open Up That Heart was just the warm-up and it’s time to see what happens when they really open the taps.
What happens is Big Smash, an album so stuffed with ambition, hooks, and rock ‘n’ roll styles that it feels like three records crammed into one without ever sounding bloated or overstuffed. This is Tenement’s Predatory Headlights levels of creative firepower. This is Daniel Romano switching genres mid-song and making it look easy. This is Liquid Mike energy but with two songwriters tag-teaming you into submission.
I don’t have liner notes so I can’t definitively say who wrote what, but Truth Reaper and Chain Reaction have that Wisch signature all over them: pedal to the floor, hooks for days, indie rock in permanent overdrive. Out of My Own Way and Living On The Ground channel that smooth old-time rock quality Jurgens has been perfecting lately. Saturday Night is basically just choruses stacked on top of choruses until the whole thing threatens to tip over from sheer joy. The title track teases you with just vocals and guitar before the full band crashes in like they’ve been waiting in the parking lot. Last Train Home From The City sounds like a pop punk band covering an Americana classic that doesn’t actually exist, but made you look anyway.
The second half drops three songs over five minutes each, and not one of them feels like filler or an excuse to noodle around. Every second has a job and shows up to work.
I haven’t been able to put this record down, and I’m not even trying to fight it anymore. You know that cynical guy at the office who keeps insisting there are no exciting guitar bands anymore? Hand him this record. If Big Smash doesn’t flip him, nothing will. Cut your losses and move on.
LP available through Storm Chasers LTD.
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