by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
Mandibles is the new EP from NYC quartet Debbie Dopamine, who over the years have been offering tantalizing releases delving deep into the inner self. Their songs are unafraid to tackle torment, anxiety, and the journey of moving beyond those emotions. Katie Ortiz’s vocals have a trembling vulnerability and a delivery, and the band play with a tense and intricate musical formula mixing a tinge of post-hardcore anger and angularity with a a street-smart sense of pop formulas, shifting between the two quite fluidly. Ortiz’s lyrics are matched with Dylan Lapointe’s bass lines that pound and pop with the nimble and powerful drumming of Zach Rescignano. Combined, it creates quite an impressive and dynamic band.
“Marzipan” starts off with Ortiz’s vocals soaring over humming keys before giving way to lithe guitar lines and rubbery bass lines. Multi-tracked vocals add contrasting layers with each other, as the band makes striking shifts with tone and rhythms. Ortiz unleashes aggressive guitar lines before drifting into an uneasy quiet release.
“Limbs” also shows its strength in highlighting the uncomfortable, playing well with Ortiz’s tremulous vocals, Anthime Miller’s soft cello swells, and Scout Watkins’ slowly unspooling guitar leads. Ortiz’s vocals are impeccably timed and phrased soaring into highs to match the explosions underneath them, the band show off their skills with handling heaviness without wallowing.
Mandibles shows Debbie Dopamine bringing their many skills to new levels. The band has developed in leaps and bounds over a pretty short period of time and beholding the results is quite energizing. Ortiz’s vocals wonderfully alternate between emotional extremes and the band follow wherever they lead with a sense of passion and style that is exhibited on many different levels. This EP shows a band truly beginning to find its footing; an exciting proposition from a listener’s perspective. Debbie Dopamine have a wonderful knack for presenting honest and uncompromising songs that delve deep into poignant and complex thoughts and beliefs, examining them in a compassionately human manner that is a delight to behold.