Leeds trio, Dinosaur Pile-Up deliver an all-out barrage of stimulating riff fuelled tunes on their fourth record Celebrity Mansions.
Since the release of their first project, My Rock ‘n’ Roll EP, the comparisons have been there from the influence of the grungey Nirvana guitars along with Weezer’s pop infused rock, it’s fair to say Dinosaur Pile-Up make this record their own. After releasing their first three albums independently, the Leeds group signed with Parlophone Records in the build-up to making Celebrity Mansions.
Kicking off with lead singer Matt Bigland clearing his throat on the track Thrash Metal Cassette comes along with one of the catchiest riffs you’ll hear all year, a staple for what’s yet to come on this record. The track is also one of the heaviest on the album with screams of, “Ohhhhh, thrash metal cassette! Yeahhhhh thrash metal cassette!” Somehow the band place a group of cheerleaders in a song about thrash metal and they pull it off brilliantly with the heavy crunching guitar teeing off well with a chant of, “put it up yeah put it up for thrash metal,” from the cheerleaders.
The energy throughout each song is consistent, with every track sounding more explosive than the other. From the second single off the album, Back Foot with its heavy duty chorus to the main highlight of the album with the song Pouring Gasoline which sees the band turn its sound up another notch and vocalist Bigland pushing his vocal ability to the max, in delivery a pulsating performance on the track.
The band also incorporate just the right amount of cheesiness, like with the song Stupid Heavy Metal Broken Hearted Loser Punk with Bigland bellowing out, “I want you, to want me, like I want you.” The song also has one of the most memorable riffs off the album. The title track Celebrity Mansions slows the pace down a touch and shows off the song writing ability of Bigland. Looking at how far the band have come as a whole while comparing their lives as a touring band to online celebs as Bigland says in the song, “the chicks on Instagram earn more, then I ever will.” Although the bands lyrics may sometimes come off as sarcastic, this title track certainly adds a lot of realism.
One of the stand out performances on this album is lead singer Bigland’s versatility as a vocalist. From his bloodcurdling screams towards the end on the song Pouring Gasoline to his brave and bold attempt at rapping in the song Back Foot. Bigland’s presence on this album with his gritty whiney tone superbly accommodates each intense riff played through every song.
The song K West delivers some of the most pop-punk lyrics you’re ever likely to hear with Bigland singing, “I’ve spilt mayonnaise all down my shirt, still got girlfriends all across the world.” The track, while having some of the most entertaining lyrics also deploys probably the most basic melody on the album but to great effect. The last song, Long Way Down is the most emotional song off the album and sees the band pull out all the strings to make sure they finish the record off with a bang. They do so with Bigland putting every ounce of emotion into singing the chorus, “this is for you, without you, I would have been a long way down.”
An album very hard to dislike, Dinosaur Pile-Up have come up with a loud and vibrant record.
Words: Liam Thomas Michael Carroll
