Cassette Review // Dagwood "Pollyanna Visions"

https://dagwoodct.bandcamp.com/album/pollyanna-visions-2

One of the misconceptions that living in Connecticut can give you concerning its music scene is that you can hear a band like Dagwood and think that around the world (or at least within the US) they'd be as widely known and loved as someone such as Weezer or Bayside.  I prefer not to think outside of my CT bubble though and just remain thinking of Dagwood as this band everyone knows and loves because they very much offer what you should want out of modern rock music.

Hearing Dagwood for the first time is, for me, a lot like hearing Bayside for the first time.  There is this raw energy to their music and that just comes through with every song on "Pollyanna Visions".    Some of the Smoking Popes comes out in these songs, but so does older Blink 182 (musically).   Within the music also hides some of that Weezer fuzz and when the songs get closer to pop (such as "Candy Apple Green") they can also feel like the All-American Rejects (musically).  

What I love most about Dagwood is that this cassette is the perfect balance between a band such as Superdrag- that era of rock which came after grunge in the mid to late 1990's but people don't talk about it as much- and then something more modern (like Bayside) in a punk way but also with elements of shoegaze.  It really just feels like it's taking two of my favorite landmarks in time of sound and combining them, though occasionally also you'll hear some twang in the guitar on the song "Stay Around".

Lyrically, this cassette begins with the song "Trying To Be Kind" which features the chorus line of "I was trying to be kind".   This song also has one of my favorite lyrics on this entire cassette, as it says: "You're disappointed / I am annoyed and nobody wins", which just feels like a lot going on but I've been there before.  The more you listen to "Pollyanna Visions", the more lines like that you will be able to pull out and dissect.

Though I refuse to leave the safety of the CT music scene mentality, if Dagwood isn't well known outside where they're from it's only because aren't paying close enough attention.  Between the music and lyrics, "Pollyanna Visions" is one of the most perfect EPs for people who are fans of rock music but also perhaps had a lot of their musical tastes shaped in the 1990's.   Any of these songs could (and should) be a hit on the radio right now, but if you have not yet heard of Dagwood this is your time to get this experience before I say I told you so in the years to come.