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The So Many Dynamos bio in a nutshell: underage, from the suburban Midwest. Since I don't generally listen to other bands that sound like these guys, I'm not really sure what the right comparisons are to make for frame of reference--I'm told they have similarities to Hot Hot Heat, the few songs by The Rapture that I've heard have a similar sound, and this CD was mixed by a Dismemberment Plan guy, but that doesn't mean that much to me. I can say that even though this isn't my usual flavor, I do enjoy this album a heck of a lot and find myself wanting to listen to it a bunch.
The lineup: 2 guitarists, 1 drummer, and 1 keyboardist who does the basslines plus noisy stuff and is the main singer. It's super-solid without being overly polished and is packed with youthful energy. There's urgent dancy beats, noisy post-punky twin guitar back-and-forth ("When We Were Machines" has an awesome example of this which combines with a great keyboard bassline to make a collossal hook that I love), and some extra electronic effects like vocoder like on the opening track "Bed of Nails". The vocals are tuneful and melodic (except in some shouty parts) and delivered in that kind of "emo" enunciated Get Up Kids/Death Cabby style, and that adds a real accessibility factor. The lyrics are vivid and thematically on the dark side (frustration, bitterness, defeat, death) and can kind of be summed up with the final 2 lines on the album: "If this is the end of the world / I hope we do a better job next time." This idea is illustrated somewhat by the cover art, which shows a young fellow impassively observing a hellish view outside his window. I'm totally impressed by the vision, focus, talent, and energy of these kids, and they're cute to boot so watch out. (mike.08.04)
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