Make a list of everything you desire in a Summer record and there is a good chance you will find it in Diners’ new LP DOMINO. Good pace? Upbeat? Classic pop melodies? Abundant hooks? Check, check, check, check!
While stylistic changes usually make me fall out of love with bands, with Diners it is the exact opposite. In all honesty, previous releases by Diners never made the cut, but DOMINO is right up my wheelhouse. How’s that possible? I found part of the explanation in an interview at the highly recommended powerpop substack Remember The Lighning. There, Blue Broderick, the human being behind Diners explains: “My baseline inspiration for Diners is always Paul McCartney, Brian Wilson, and Dear Nora. But this time around I was much more focused on The Nerves, Tony Molina, Apples In Stereo, Fountains of Wayne, Chris Weisman, and The dB’s.” Excellent picks to draw influence from, but ultimately it depends on what you create, and clearly Blue Broderick is in top form on the record. Add Mo Troper, who is a frontrunner in the modern power pop ressurgence, to the mix as a producer and you get total synergy. Together, they have created a gem of a record proving that there is always room for new great pop songs.
DOMINO is out now on Bar None Records.
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