by Kris Handel (@khandel84)
The Australian sextet Dragnet have been kicking around the Australian punk / egg punk scene for relatively close to a decade. Dragnet Reigns is their third full length. Here, we get a sound with a little bit more atmosphere, where buzzing keyboards and sharp guitar-work tug and pull every knot without ever falling apart or coming undone. On earlier releases, the band often came charging out of the gates with fast paced punk and sprechgesang vocals that played with tempos and rapid chaos. The nerviness is still readily apparent, yet there’s a bubbling composure that is a bit amplified. Jack Cherry’s vocals still have that spittle-inflected quality to them as he rants about pop culture and existing in an online driven world.
The record kicks off with the martial drumming and pulsing bass of Daniel Oke and Meaghan Wailey before a jagged guitar and Cherry’s authoritative vocals enter the paranoid picture of “What It’s Worth.” Cherry strongly intones a tale of living in a cloistered, highly supervised political environment with no to little freedom, painting a picture of opposition while living under the thumb of stifling and threatening Authoritarianism that looms large in societies of the past and chilling present. “Claire’s Whip” has a dirty double-edged S&M vibe as guitar lines stop and start while repeating over buzzing synths and jerky rhythm section as lyrics speak of various dominant forms. “Grandstand” rumbles and stabs as Cherry is joined by gang vocals and guitar jitters around fluid basslines. The track maintains a tight simmer that keeps building as Cherry deadpans one-liners towards their opposition.
Dragnet Reigns continues the intriguing pursuit of entertaining-yet-somewhat-disturbing records that Dragnet revel in releasing upon the world, and the little new edges and colors add welcome intrigue. The tension is quite high here, yet the band deftly intertwines a withering wit that brings a needed release at times when the anxiety is about to push into overload. There is a bit more urgency to everything at hand here and the songwriting carries a heaviness that can’t be overlooked which, given the current political climate, is well appreciated. Dragnet have quite a bit to say with this record and the incisive commentary combined with passionate energy is quite a workout, but one that pays dividends for the attention these songs demand of us.