We all feel it, I think. There's been kind of this tension in the air for a while now -- whether it's something specific that's been gnawing at you or just a general sense that something's not quite right in your city, in the world, in your head. On Night Swimming, their third full-length and first for Cleopatra Records, Asbury Park's Dentist harness that feeling. It's the band's most cohesive and mature record to date; and its pop confidence is always just inches away from breaking down under all the stress.
The album opens with a short squall of feedback on "Upset Words." Throughout the record, Emily Bornemann's vocals are a sweet counterpoint to aggressive guitars and the, often, dark thematic content of the songs. Here, she sings of being paralyzed by social anxiety as the band chug along.
There's a little bit more of a sense of darkness on the title track (for which Dentist recently released a video). Justin Bornemann's guitar gives things a post-punk vibe as Emily sings, "I'm feeling insecure. / Ain't that what life is for?"
Things open up on "Alone in the Garden" with Matt Hockenjos's rolling, surf-inspired drums. The guitars and reverb give the song a real sense of space. That's in contrast to Emily's lyrics about a solitary confinement of her own making. "Stuck at home cause of my head. / Wasting time. Stuck in my bed."
"Oh" alternates between its 60s girl group style verse and a short, angsty, distorted chorus. The tension on "Tight Spot" builds until a quick burst of edgy, surfy guitar. Emily's "ooos" float sweetly over angular guitars on "Remind Me."
"Figure Four" is a standout on an album stocked with them. Take early-aughts, NYC indie rock like The Strokes or Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Add Dentist's coastal pop flavor and a refrain of "The world has gone to shit / and I am over it," and you have a nice summary of all the things this band do so well.
Dentist always like to include a mostly acoustic song, and the entry on Night Swimming is "All Is Well (in Hell)." It's a bit of a break, sonically, from the rest of the record; but, as the title suggests, the song fits right in with the idea that things are not always as happy as they might seem.
The big drums and wide-open spaces are back on "Corked." Emily is harboring some serious ill-will ("I wish that I could hurt you, babe.") toward someone she's keeping in her life against her better judgement ("Something's wrong again. / Cause we're still friends.").
On "Owl Doom, Pt. 2," Dentist reconfigure their influences and file down some of the jagged edges into swaying, soaring dream pop.
Night Swimming closes with "The Latter," the song that was our first taste of this record more than a year ago. It's kind of hopeful. This is Dentist, though; so there are complications.
If you've been to this site even a few times, I don't have to tell you about my fondness for Dentist. They've been mainstays here from almost the very beginning. We've been through a lot together and lived through lots of changes in our city, in the world, in our heads.
I've talked to several people privately lately about wanting to bring CoolDad Music back to its roots. Back to the time when I didn't worry about song premieres and press releases and when I just discovered and fell in love with a new band like Dentist who moved me to write down my thoughts. It's fitting that Night Swimming, an album that captures so well where we are (I am) at this moment in time, an album by a band who have been such an important part of this site, would be the album to set me down that new / old path.
Night Swimming is out now on Cleopatra Records.
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