Dick Dudley – Queen City Sounds and Art

Dick Dudley Dark Surf Rock Post-punk “Meditation” is a Surreal Yet Sincere Inducement to Living in the Moment

“Meditation” is a very different kind of song for Australian post-punk band Dick Dudley. Its lyrics are a kind of guided meditation but one that goes beyond the tranquil self-care of a New Age or non-Western spirituality type of exercise. There is an undercurrent of intensity that suits the slinking sense of menace in the music. The latter sounds like the kind of surf rock you’d hear in Apocalypse Now. If Charlie surfed, that is. Dick Dudley hasn’t been short on irony and subversive humor but this song seems to be playing the messaging fairly straightforward while subverting the form of the guided meditation which can benefit anyone needing to focus on living in this current moment rather than being distracted by the forces that take us out of living in the moment. Listen to “Meditation” on Spotify and follow Dick Dudley on Instagram.

Dick Dudley Exults in the Frustration Tensions of Dietary Restrictions on the Gnarled and Exultant Post-punk Song “Salt”

A thick bass line opens Dick Dudley’s “Salt” before the song opens up into a frantic and noisy clash of guitar and nearly shouted lyrics. It all sustains a borderline chaotic mood to the end with moments of suspended introspection as the song hangs and falls back into the swing of the this airing of frustrations and grievances that come from the reality of living with kidney disease and needing to avoid salt while staying hydrated. But the habits of living lead to an embarrassing situation like inviting friends over for dinner and saying one might cook but there’s no salt in the food and explaining why it doesn’t have the same flavorfulness it might have with a bit of salt. Although the song is about bemoaning the reality of one’s life circumstances it also has the spirit of embracing the limitations the way one might with the limitations you impose on creative work to encourage new manifestations of how the elements work out. But even then it’s nice to indulge the forbidden elements to exult in the full range of options open to our existence. “Salt” navigates those tensions with a joyful release of nervous energy. Listen to “Salt” on Spotify and follow Dick Dudley on Instagram.

The Deadpan Desperation of Dick Dudley’s Herky Jerky and Angular Post-Punk Song “Train” is a Strikingly Accurate Portrait of Self-Oppression

“Train” is practically pointillist in the rapid fire execution of its rhythms. But in short order Dick Dudley’s song unfolds some in a paradoxically herky jerky, The Fall-esque giving the song an urgent mood. The vocals are delivered in what might be described as a desperate deadpan depicting the daily routine of a man who seems locked into a ritualistic daily routine but resisting inwardly with no direction “with his elbows up and his legs spread wide” in a gesture of confrontational repose even though “he’s just another passenger with no time for his kids and no kiss for his wife.” Sounds like the kind of person who knows this isn’t living but lacks the self-awareness to go for a life that would mean something or to adopt an attitude toward a job that is providing for him and his family that keeps the work and its stress on him in perspective and not treat it like it matters as his whole identity and maybe develop a personality that includes finding joy in his existence somewhere rather than be so buttoned up. Ultimately this jagged yet loose song is one of compassion for someone who doesn’t know how to break this cycle or lacks the will to recognized that the unclenched jaw is superior to self-reinforced diligence over nothing no matter what anyone suggests to you. Fans of Protomartyr and IDLES will find some strong resonances here. Listen to “Train” on Spotify and follow Dick Dudley on Instagram.

Dick Dudley Comes to Terms With the Necessities of Normiedom and Punk Weirdo Existentialism on the Jittery “Dog Park”

Dick Dudley wastes no time on “Dog Park.” For a song that just a little over a minute long and is essentially having a moment of acute existential awareness at the reality of working a regular job and doing the thing one needs to do to do right by one’s animal companion and take one’s dog to the dog park it gets weird with the spiky, jittery guitar work and slinky bass line and mumbling, borderline nervous breakdown vocals. And within that micro universe of contemplation the song takes out a moment to indulge a guitar solo worthy of Minutemen before sputtering out and life going back to the usual rituals and acceptance of such in order for life to maintain a semblance of normalcy and stability. But for a moment the character of the song, perhaps a universal experience for the working bloke who sometimes plays in a weird punk band, we get a glimpse into the idle thoughts that seem so poignant and amusing because life is so often mundane and absurd when allowed under the microscope of self-examination and in taking that time to remind oneself of the proper place of these thoughts it is entirely possible to live with both being an art weirdo and a normie and not see either as mutually exclusive. Listen to “Dog Park” on Spotify and follow Dick Dudley on Instagram.