On their website, New Jersey-based Dr. Roberts describe
themselves as a band who are still very much in the development
stage. That’s what I like: truth in advertising.
Their debut EP,
Dennis Foxx Lives, is the brainchild of guitarist/vocalists
Nick Foss and Michael Casteel, and like their website says, these
six songs do show off a band who is still very much trying to find
where they belong in the crowded musical pool. Yet there is an air
about this disc, much like Nirvana’s debut
Bleach, that suggests once the band gets their act together
and tightens up as a musical unit, the results could be
unstoppable. As they are now, they’re marginal, at best.
Taking a sound that is part Nirvana, part Sonic Youth and part
R.E.M., the band – Goss, Casteel, bassist John Talor and drummer
Joe Lucidi – bang through these songs (supposedly just a sampling
of the band’s songwriting catalog) and encourage the listener to
keep their eyes focued on what the group will become. At times,such
as on “Simple Tools For The Process” and “Drop G Tuning,” one has
to wonder whether the attention is worth it.
Yet there are moments on
Dennis Foxx Lives that suggest that things are indeed
clicking for Dr. Roberts. “Worm” is a powerhouse that refuses to
stop once the musical ball gets rolling, while “Repeat It” is the
closest thing to a hit single this disc has on it. Both tracks are
the highlights of this disc, and confirm to me that there is some
substance behind my hope for this band.
Yet they have their work cut out for them; the too-loose
structure of songs like “Drop G Tuning” and “Cello Girl” offer a
picture of a band that has not completely developed yet. When it
comes to the hard-earned money of the consumer, they might not be
willing to make an investment in a disc which shows a band in their
own growing pains. Yes, every band needs to go through this
stage… but one tends to think that the studio is the end result,
not part of the process.
In one way, I hesitate to suggest that
Dennis Foxx Lives should have been longer. On one hand, I’d
have liked more than six songs to base my initial judgment on. On
the other hand, understanding that Dr. Roberts is still growing
into their own skin, would more songs have helped the situation…
or possibly hurt it?
I’ll be intrigued to see how Dr. Roberts matures as a band,
especially on the strength of songs like “Repeat It”. But
Dennis Foxx Lives doesn’t offer enough of those insightful
moments.
