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Dr. Pants Grows Up and Makes Even Better Pop Songs
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Dr. Pants often gets compared to Weezer, but The Trip, Side 2: Breaking the Feel should do a great d...Dr. Pants often gets compared to Weezer, but The Trip, Side 2: Breaking the Feel should do a great deal to get some other RIYLs on the list. The second of four EPs in a release cycle features nuanced songs that sound a great deal more like They Might Be Giants and Fountains of Wayne than Rivers Cuomo and co.
Songwriter David Broyles’ clever, geeky sense of humor is still thankfully intact. “Calling Chewbacca” is literally about the Wookiee leaving messages on his cell phone, which I thought was mildly quirky until I remembered that Chewbacca speaks in unintelligible howls. The only conclusion? David Broyles is Han Solo.
But for all the gleeful ridiculousness of the opener (the band even throws in the Star Wars theme as a guitar solo), Breaking The Feel has more serious topics than outlandish ones. “The Live and the Lecherous” is a critical look at our culture’s obsession with social media: “Like me now please!” begs the chorus. “The Cassette Song” is about the titular item on the surface, but it’s really about abusive relationships. (Gulp.) “This is What It Looks Like” is an incredibly tender, mature love song to his wife. The only clunker is “Magic Airplane,” which gets lost in its own metaphors.
Broyles’ lyrics take the front seat here, but the music hasn’t suffered. His ’90s-leaning vocal melodies are top-notch. The music, while dialed back in volume from the power-pop that garnered them so many Blue Album comparisons, hasn’t lost any vitality. “This is What It Looks Like” and “The Live and The Lecherous” are actually more dialed-in because they take the focus off the chord mashing: the former is a subdued acoustic vehicle, while the latter noticeably mixes the rock so that Broyles can be front and center.
Breaking the Feel is not as goofy as Dr. Pants’ past work, but we get older and our goofiness is tempered by wisdom. I’m teaching a unit on musical authenticity right now in my day job, and Broyles’ balance of geekery, music knowledge, and life observations is much more true to Broyles’ life than most Great Depression-appropriating alt-country. If we care about authenticity—if it matters at all—then we should celebrate it when it appears. It’s definitely on display here.
Does that make the songs better? In this case, it does: you can tell that Broyles (and Dr. Pants as a whole) care about these tunes, and that makes me want to care. And I do, both in “Calling Chewbacca” and “This Is What It Looks Like.” That’s impressive. I am eagerly anticipating the third volume.
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CD Review - Dr. Pants "The Trip, Side 1: Illusion & Truth"
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Dr. Pants have been going for quite a while now, managing to boast a pretty much flawless discograph...Dr. Pants have been going for quite a while now, managing to boast a pretty much flawless discography, and I think I have reviewed each of the previous releases up to this point. This is by far their best effort, but it is just a small piece of the puzzle. The band has decided to take on an immense project, the recording of twenty songs, by splitting it into four EP releases. There aren't many indie bands who decide to do the equivalent of a double album, but by splitting it into four subsets and releasing each as it's own entity, the band may be on to something. That is artistic vision defined. It's been said, "Always leave the audience wanting for more." Done. Well done.
“A full double album can be a little overwhelming to take in at once,” bandleader and vocalist David Broyles said. “For the moment, it seems like music is moving toward being digested in smaller chunks.”
“I liked the idea that the small chunk emphasizes you were listening to one side of the album, almost like a double-sided vinyl record,” he said. “There’s a little regard for the now and what happened in the past.”
Before I get into specifics, let me tell you how absolutely addictive "The Trip, Side 1: Illusion & Truth" is. The song "Hipster Kids/Sexy Beards" is but one example. It's a song that will figuratively grab you, tie you down, beat you silly, hit on your sister, eat your lunch, steal your milk money and then have you begging for more. "Instant Insanity" provides more of the same. But while "Hipster/Sexy" does it with it's ironic and engaging lyrics, "Instant Insanity" has this amazing, ethereal bridge that is as scintillating as it is dreamy. The whole song has an almost late-1960s, electrified folk and psychedelic feel to it, reminiscent of bands like The Byrds and Fairport Convention, complete with a distorted, fuzzy guitar sound that is for lack of a better phrase, a total jam. At a time when artists are pioneering formats and new technologies, where uncharted genres emerge and transform and styles are ever-evolving, sometimes it’s nice to take a step back and remind yourself how equally powerful a retrospective nod to the past can be.
Moreover, "Instant Insanity" showcases the individual band members by allowing them to explore their musical passions within the band. Examples include stabs of grinding guitar, weaving contemporary bass, emotive vocals and incendiary layering. This can be attributed to the longevity of the band itself and its cognizance of what works in the studio as well as in post-production. Dr. Pants demonstrates a comfortable relationship, and this song may be the turning point where the band takes that next step from being a very good band to a stunningly great one.
Having successfully assimilated and channeled the late 1960s on "Instant Insanity," the band gets back to more of a traditional Dr. Pants sound on the songs "Gas Planet" and "Bowling With A Genius." Both are full of sweeping flourishes and the kind of intellectual irony that David C Broyles could probably patent by now. Propulsive, with rich arrangements and driving, persistent chord patterns, both are among Broyles' best work to date. On "Bowling With A Genius", the band again nails the bridge. "Gas Planet" has that howling bass line that we grew to know and love on "Bootyfest" and in fact provides the perfect segue to "The Trip" from the band's previous release, "The Cusack-Loggins EP" as well as a step forward musically.
"The Trip" is everything you'd expect and more from a band that describes it's musical style as Nerd Power Groove Rock. Does it get better than this? If so, as fans, we are in for a real treat, because we are still owed sides 2,3 and 4 of the aptly titled "The Trip." It will be interesting to see where David C Broyles et al take this project from here, and where the band takes us. So far, the first leg of the itinerary has been wonderfully enjoyable.
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Zipper Parts
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Can you ‘Trip’ like Dr. Pants does? For the Oklahoma City nerd-rock outfit, that means splitting its...Can you ‘Trip’ like Dr. Pants does? For the Oklahoma City nerd-rock outfit, that means splitting its new release into four.
Joshua Boydston, Oklahoma Gazette
June 1st, 2011
Having too much good material isn’t the worst problem to have, but it does present a few challenges. Oklahoma City nerd rockers Dr. Pants didn’t know what to do with the 20-plus quality songs they had amassed for a new album. Their first thought was to pile them together, but a double-disc release seemed too big.
“A full double album can be a little overwhelming to take in at once,” bandleader and vocalist David Broyles said. “For the moment, it seems like music is moving toward being digested in smaller chunks.”
But a full-length followed by another one seemed too dismissive of the tracks that didn’t make the first cut. So they settled on splitting the album, titled “The Trip,” via four EPs over the course of a year, the first of which, “Side 1: Illusion & Truth,” will be released digitally on Tuesday, after a release show on Saturday.
“This arrangement was the only thing that gave all the songs equal treatment without overwhelming everybody,” Broyles said. “They get to be on equal footing with each other this way. We didn’t want people to think the other release was leftovers.”
By the end, “The Trip” will have assembled itself into a standard double album, although Broyles very much enjoys the band’s clever and deliberate release method.
“I liked the idea that the small chunk emphasizes you were listening to one side of the album, almost like a double-sided vinyl record,” he said. “There’s a little regard for the now and what happened in the past.”
For him and the rest of Dr. Pants — guitarist Kenneth Murray, bassist Aaron Vasquez and drummer Dustin Ragland — this huge undertaking has been fun and rewarding on every level. The songs and the EPs operate less as an overarching story and more as a summation of what the band does.
“Each of the four EPs is like a little Dr. Pants mixtape in a way,” Broyles said. “Even before they were finished, we had rough demos of each one, and it was fun moving them around, playing around and finding the perfect order. I think there will be continuity between all four, but that they will all still have their little, personal vibe.”
The act is confident that the fun, loose bunch of songs, which immediately recall Weezer and further beg comparisons to They Might Be Giants and R.E.M., are some of its best. Considering tracks from the last album, “Gardening in a Tornado,” landed on television programs as huge as “Jersey Shore,” that’s promising.
The whole release is still taking shape; the second side is currently being worked on in the studio and has grown into something different than Pants first might have imagined. It looks to be a continually evolving project, although the destination remains predetermined.
“The whole project being called ‘The Trip,’ the further we got along into it, the more appropriate it seems,” Broyles said. “There’s a journey aspect to all four, and the last one will definitely feel like an ending place.”
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Dr. Pants -- The Trip, Side 1: Illusion & Truth
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The cumbersomely named “The Trip Side 1: Illusion & Truth” by Dr. Pants suffers no such songwriting ...The cumbersomely named “The Trip Side 1: Illusion & Truth” by Dr. Pants suffers no such songwriting problems in its six tracks.
The Oklahoma City-based quartet plays straightforward pop songs here, relying on vocals and lyrics to carry the release instead of the ear-crushing, distorted guitars of Weezer, to which the group is often compared.
This is made clear from the onset, as “Move So Slow” is played primarily on an acoustic guitar and hangs on a lyrical device instead of a musical one. The clever song uses the ubiquity of driving and playing in a band as a metaphor for losing sight of loved ones in the tedium of life. There is a rock-out section, but the focus is thoughtful as opposed to “bashing it out in a garage.” (Be not afraid: There’s still plenty of rock to go around, as “Instant Insanity” proves.)
But even thoughtful people can be hilarious, and the best humor is clever. “Bowling with a Genius” is a smile-inducing bit of absurdity that masks deep questions, while “Hipster Kid/Sexy Beards” is an ironic joy, poking fun at a subgenre that Broyles and the rest of Dr. Pants fall near, if not exactly in (there are Weezer glasses and an excellent beard on display in their lineup). It’s witty fun — I dare you to not hum along with the phrase “Sexy beards” and its corresponding “ah-oo-ah-ah-oos.”
The tight pop songwriting of “The Trip” contains excellent lyrics and a firm grasp on the line between irony and parody. If you’re not listening to Dr. Pants yet, you should be. —Stephen Carradini
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Review of Dr. Pants at Norman Music Festival 4, May 2011
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"Dr. Pants gained my love by introducing their drummer as Disco Pony. Their power-pop did even more ..."Dr. Pants gained my love by introducing their drummer as Disco Pony. Their power-pop did even more to gain my love once they started singing about young men who love John Cusack (guilty), bearded hipsters (guilty), Firefly references (guilty), donuts (guilty) and ironic rapping (guilty). This band seems as if it were scientifically engineered for me to like it. Their power-pop tunes split the difference between Fountains of Wayne and Weezer, albeit with ironic rapping every now and then."
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Dr. Pants Bristles at "Novelty" Label
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Dr. Pants is not a novelty act. Yes, a ballad dedicated to the genius of John Cusack and a funky man...Dr. Pants is not a novelty act. Yes, a ballad dedicated to the genius of John Cusack and a funky mantra titled “Kenny Loggins” form the backbone of band’s “The Cusack-Loggins” EP, but the album is bookended with the bellowing rocker “It All Depends” and a guitar-slinging instrumental named “Sweet Natasha,” neither of which possess even a whiff of novelty. So what is Dr. Pants? According to front man David Broyles, the Oklahoma City act falls much closer to Camper Van Beethoven than “Weird Al” Yankovic. Just because songs are fun doesn’t mean the band should be casually dismissed. “Are They Might Be Giants a novelty band?” Broyles said. “They have songs that are humorous and entertaining, but the songcraft is solid. You can’t deny they are great songwriters. I want to make music that is fun, and I don’t think that makes it novelty music. There are humorous elements to all kinds of music, even The Beatles — they had songs that were funny, odd and off-kilter.” Writing music that often veers into absurdity gives the band more creative license, Broyles said, allowing the group a chance to explore ideas that would be otherwise ridiculous or even unnerving. “It would be creepy if (Broyles) just made a song about John Cusack that was really serious,” drummer Dustin Ragland said. By being patently absurd, Broyles is able to sneak in some sincerity. “I think John Cusack is fantastic,” he said. “He was an actor who played characters that, while I was in my early teens, I could relate to on a really personal level.” Broyles admits that he has put some thought into the possibility that a single humorous song might actually take off, further labeling the band as a purely humor-based group. He’s not particularly worried about it, as long as it allows the band to continue making music. “I don’t want to put any limits on what I write,” he said. “If it helps the band to continue to exist and do things, then I am really OK with that. I’d rather that happen then I try to hide those songs from the world and this all falls apart so there is no longer any Dr. Pants.” The band has been a shifting concept since Broyles founded the group in 1999. In the past two years, it began solidifying into a collaborative unit. Ragland said he was initially hesitant because of Broyles’ bizarre songwriting subject matter. “But then we worked on songs like ‘Sweet Natasha,’ where he was making power-pop ballads and thinking out really complex arrangements,” Ragland said. “That’s what changed it around for me. He knew what he was doing, and we weren’t just making songs for Dr. Demento.” However, Broyles is quick to defend Dr. Demento, who introduced him to the music of Frank Zappa and Cake — bands that weren’t just novelty acts, but whose musical delivery fit in with the show even when the subject matter was more substantial. “Humor is the only emotion that has the stigma of being called a ‘novelty,’” Broyles said. “But humor and laughter are just as much as valid emotions as being sad, angry, heartbroken, whatever.” —Charles Martin
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Chasing Tail With Dr. Pants
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The world of facetious wit has always numbered musicians among its residents, and one band has gentr...The world of facetious wit has always numbered musicians among its residents, and one band has gentrified the neighborhood with its latest release. Combining superb pop craftsmanship with a hyperactive sense of caprice, Dr. Pants new release The Cusack-Loggins EP is a trajectory of surreal ideas and a catchy cataract of fun. If you have seen anything by John Cusack or heard anything by Kenny Loggins you will catch the subtle innuendo to culture and identity that is immersed with dulcet intelligence and a clever phrase or two.
Produced by band members David Broyles and Dustin Ragland, the six-song EP is a fiery mix of all the elements that make Dr. Pants a blast to see live; power poppy, Weezer-esque guitar rock, funky, jammy suite-like compositions that would make Phish jealous, and the quirky sense of humor that recalls the best work of Ween and They Might Be Giants.
Careful not to burden the listener with stuffy instrumentation or ponderous lyrics, this release is, simply stated, a stone groove. The best example may be the song "Bootyfest", a funky bass-infused jam that interpolates eclectic whimsy without taking itself seriously. Following the rocking fan-favorite "It All Depends", which kicks off the album with a wisp of subtle seriousness, "Bootyfest" launches beyond its suggestive title to carve a realistic life mask from the conceptual clay of : "You gotta spend some to get some." It is indeed an inspiring ode to the fine art of simply finding a platonic yet sexual relationship, or for lack of better nomenclature - chasing tail.
The memorable "Cusack Prelude > If I Were John Cusack" duo couches its elation in lyrics like "If I were John Cusack I would make High Fidelity 2 and I'd make it totally awesome - it would be the greatest movie ever made", and it's chorus "Lane Meyer and Lloyd Dobler, Martin Blank and Rob Gordon" which is a kaleidoscope of some of Cusack's most loved movie characters and feels amazingly like a song Jack Black would improvise on the set of "High Fidelity". Maybe these guys collaborated with Black through www.SonicJive.com!
Note To The Band: I'd close every show with "If I Were John Cusack" and let the crowd continue the refrain in a crescendo of a Capella love as the band leaves the stage to a sea of Bic lighters and encore extravagance.
Note To The Band, II: (From the "I never saw THAT coming" constituency) Surprisingly stunning guitar about 40-seconds into "Kenny Loggins", surprising only because it is completely unexpected and so damn good.
"Cusack-Loggins" is a convivial and wry lesson in perceptions and particularity. Its unpretentious and well-crafted, artsy grooves work because they avoid the bombastic approach that worked against some of the latter works by They Might Be Giants or some of the forced efforts of The Barenaked Ladies or The Conchords, songs that actually try too hard to be a little too artsy.
Which begs the question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?
Likely, the performances of these songs in a live setting is far better. But even with the limitations of studio reproduction, the songs are quite good. As I said, "Bootyfest" is such an amazing song that were it released by a successfully mainstream artist (like Beck for example), it would probably be an instant hit. Grab the CD for eight bucks and if you still need convincing, you can download "Bootyfest" on SonicJive for free this Friday.
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CD Review
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Dr. Pants is a fine name for a rock band, although I would be wary of any physician with that name. ...Dr. Pants is a fine name for a rock band, although I would be wary of any physician with that name. David Broyles is the legs, so to speak, of this medical menswear. He writes and sings the songs, sometimes with striking honesty.
Broyles writes songs about anything and everything. “Hey Abe Lincoln” seeks out a famous dead president for advice. The disc closes with “Donuts,” which begins by stating: “I love donuts - that’s all I can say, I eat donuts at night and donuts in the day.” Yep, it ranges from dead presidents to a love of donuts - and everything in between.
This CD is mostly guitar rock, although “The Gift,” seemingly about God’s gift of love, smartly adds organ. The song also has some wonderfully funky guitar work.
It may make you a little squirmy to listen to a guy spill his guts on disc. But Broyles does this so artfully, he makes his confessions feel like a comfortable old pair of jeans.
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CD Review
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"Gardening In A Tornado" is that dark-bar, cold-beer type of album: one which sounds absolutely perf..."Gardening In A Tornado" is that dark-bar, cold-beer type of album: one which sounds absolutely perfect driving home late on Friday night. Pure, red dirt-stained rock is the modus operandi for David Broyles, an Oklahoma City-based singer-songwriter whose backup work for wife K.C. Clifford only has sharpened his instrumental acumen.
Following up the 38-track, genre-spanning 2000 debut "Feezle Day", "Tornado" is 13 tracks of lightly countrified rock that's easy on the ears and soothing to the soul, occcasionally obtuse lyrics notwithstanding. To best appreciate what Broyles and company have wrought, seek out a live gig.
For more information, visit www.doctorpants.com.
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CD Review
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Clever and tight, this Oklahoma City trio's melodic, hooky material will appeal to fans of Weezer. ...Clever and tight, this Oklahoma City trio's melodic, hooky material will appeal to fans of Weezer. While frontman David Broyles could be a bit more engaging on vocals, "Sarsaparilla Girl" (about an underage date) is a winner through and through. "Hey Abe Lincoln" is a wistful, reflective number. "Baby Don't Cry" is a classic acousic ballad, nicely rendered, and would snuggle up well to a date movie soundtrack. All in all, Dr. Pants has something to offer that's both familiar and fresh.
rating: 7.6 out of 10
