Dolph Chaney

Mug

Big Stir Records

Indie rock at it’s best, with lots of guitars, organic sounding keyboards, people singing in their natural voices, and clear, direct, plainspoken lyrics. Just perfect if you want serious fun – serious in that this album brims with meaning, mostly about how good life and love can be, even when both give you a lot of trouble. But that’s also the fun part, hearing all of this played out to unpretentious rock and roll.

For instance, “Mr Eli,” which might be a song about a beloved mentor, is actually a tribute to a cat, and either way it’s one of the best singles of the year. It’s also about Dolph attending the International Pop Overthrow festival in his hometown, Chicago. The IPO’s are pop/rock festivals held all over the world, started by former members of the band Material Issue. It sounds like a good time was had by all.

Other highlights include “Good Luck With All That,” as in you can have her, she’s yours, good luck, but also that “it’s over, but it’s not the end.” This song was originally written in 1996 and doesn't sound dated a bit. “Critic (The Mirror)” is about not getting out of your own way, and making yourself your own worst enemy.

Every song has something to recommend it, and the lyrics will make you think. You could almost say these are therapy songs, without being pretentious, since the songs aren’t. What they are is great, and sometimes that’s what's needed for any time of the day. It's a wonderful record.

Andrea Weiss