Dylan Champagne claims to wear many musical hats and he’s not kidding. He released an acoustic album in 2008, charting on the CMJ top 200; he sings and plays guitar for a new-wave punk band called The Dysfunctions; he’s a a part of a secret society of composers who meet monthly; and he fronted the now defunct math-core band One Step Shift. And his newest endeavor Love Songs of the Apocalypse, Volume 1 explores punk, prog, and 70′s pop roots with acoustic leanings. Champagne describes it as “Springsteenesque acoustic prog-punk” or perhaps “acoustic lyric-driven rock with strange time signatures, a strong pop sensibility and nostalgic themes.”
Anything with the word ‘apocalypse’ in the title is enough to gain the interest of the Millennial Generation. With shows like The Walking Dead and movies Shaun of the Dead and Zombieland, we seem to have a fascination with brain-eating crazies that pop up at the end of the world. Dylan Champagne says that he’s been having apocalyptic dreams since he was just a boy. “I suppose the reoccurring apocalyptic dreams began when I was about 9. It was the 80′s and Reagan was king, and everywhere you looked was nuclear this that and the other. Love Songs of the Apocalypse Volume 1 is a shout-out to the mid-sized semi-urban dystopia in my head.”
The album starts with “Baby in a Bear Suit” and it’s a refreshing listen. Champagne has a wonderful baritone register that he takes full advantage of, and my immediate reaction was a comparison to Jarrod Gorbel of The Honorary Title. He has sometimes painfully honest lyrics and a lot of them are tongue-in-cheek. It’s a nice change of pace to hear songs with a simple and straight-to-the-point message; sometimes you just don’t want to figure out complex poetry and metaphors. Sometime you want to hear it like it is.
Champagne’s songs are certainly lyrically driven and we get a glimpse of apocalyptic feelings with lines like “flying high above the zombie streets/cutting class and breaking bottles in the creek/and your friends all bite their tongues/and you might as well be dead.” The album begins on a soft note and at this point I would definitely call it acoustic. But the tempo steadily progresses through the album with “Dealt” and “The Daily Albatross,” and we reach wailing electric guitars on “California Song.” “Finally Ready” is a welcome break, listeners get a chance to catch their breath for a minute with a calmer piano-infused song. It’s one of my favorites of the album; I have a soft spot for piano in my acoustic-y rock music. “Empty Notebooks” continues with the chilled out theme, and “The Ballad of J Flato” is just what it sounds like: a lovely ballad that might seem to lull a person to sleep, save for the last minute or so that explodes with a burst of energy, carrying the listener through the rest of the album. “Forester Pass in Chinatown Slippers” is a look back at the strictly low-key acoustic beginnings of the album, and the rest of the album is smooth sailing, save for the last song “The Short Goodbye” which is a catchy little sing-along piece featuring a tinkling piano and female vocals to wrap things up on a sweet note.
This isn’t an album I’d normally pick up, but I can honestly say I’m a fan. Put this record on when you’re having a musically ADD day; it features a little bit of everything and in forty-five minutes or so, you’ll be feeling satisfied no matter what your initial craving was for.
Track Listing:
1. Baby in a Bear Suit
2. Dealt
3. The Daily Albatross
4. California Song
5. Finally Ready
6. Empty Notebooks
7. The Ballad of J Flato
8. Forester Pass in Chinatown Slippers
9. Row Homes in the Desert
10. Greenfield Manifesto
11. The Short Goodbye
