Dirty Heads - Swim Team

Dirty Heads
Swim Team
2017
Spotify

When I threw Swim Team on it began without vocals, a sort of cool expanse electronic sound and I had the thought: "oh maybe they got good?". Well rest assured listening public, Dirty heads did not get good and within 20 seconds the song shifts into the splashy reggae inspired music the Long beach band is known for. To be fair they are pushing the sound forward a bit on this record and experimenting with new music, but they always come back to rap/reggae which just really sucks. Every now and again you will find a Dirty Heads fan, people who swear they are the future of music and never miss a show. It's incredible because it makes no sense, nothing on this album or their last is a down right hit, nor is it interesting enough for the experimental fans. They are so willing to "bend genres" that they forget you need to be inspired by that genre, not just include a few latin rhythms like on "Vacation". It seems like the two vocalists use the first rhyme they find in their rhyming dictionaries every single time. You are never surprised by what comes out of their mouths, sheer predictability throughout. "Celebrate" which features The Unlikely Candidates (don't worry no one else knows them either) is this super sappy song about thanking the mothers of the band and listing the struggles they've gone through... If you aren't catching my drift of how played out of a concept this is, I just don't know what to say. It's complete paint by numbers on Swim Team, do we have a song about partying? Check. Mothers? Check. Something that sounds a little trappy? Put on "Diamonds & Pearls".

You could almost forgive this genre jumping if it all wasn't constantly shoved through the reggae/rap filter. It's infuriating when they find something really pretty or a sound that really fits them because they always find a way to get in their own way and ruin it. Most of the beats could be ok with some work but not if someone starts rapping bullshit lyrics over them. "So Glad You Made It" moves from a country ballad to a, I don't know, slow jam with a sort of anthemic and out of no where Nick Hexum of 311 fame comes in for a quarter of a verse to round out the insanity of it all. Is it weed? Does everyone need to stop smoking weed to make these albums stop happening because I'm not happy about it but if quitting will save us than I'm willing to make the sacrifice. Please avoid this thing it is just not good at all.

3.0 out of 10