The first day of 2019 saw Team GDW share a brand new music video from London, ON alt-rock band, The Dyadics. Accompanying this video for the track “Everything I Need” was the official announcement that the band shall release their third full-length album, “Love Devolution,” on March 1st. Comprised of Kevin Kennedy (guitars/vocals) and Matt Weston (drums/bass effects), regular readers should recognize both musicians from their ‘other’ musical projects that have been featured on GDW; The Marrieds (with Jane Carmichael), and The Cedar Sisters (once again with Jane, and Elle Hermansen). All four musicians are connected musically across these bands, but for “Love Devolution,” both Jane and Elle have become full-time additions to The Dyadics line-up.
Excited by the prospect of this news so early into the year, I was naturally motivated to dig out the 2010 self-titled debut album from The Dyadics, and re-familiarize myself with their raw, pulsating rock sounds. Inserting the disc into the player, not only would I be quickly reminded just how cutting-edge this debut was, but would also learn that my car speakers clearly loved taking this one for a few spins again too. Just a few seconds into the opening track, “Get Up,” the tone is set; dominant (and often loud and distorted) guitars from Kevin that are kept in check by Matt’s pounding percussion and MOOG bass effects. And how can we ignore the vocals? Remove any visions you may have of Kevin’s vocal style from his songs found on The Marrieds’ albums. This is a Kevin Kennedy who is clearly very comfortable stretching his vocal chords around the microphone, cranking out these original compositions with plenty of edginess, emotion, and high-octane energy; offering a rock-star persona that is a complete contrast to his often quieter demeanor.
Of course, having played together since their days back at The University of Western Ontario, Kevin and Matt naturally draw upon such time to establish their musical identity and truly hone their sound. Loud and heavy may form the core of their collaborative goals, but with this debut album, the result is not a one-dimensional, formulaic, brash rock album, but instead a multi-dimensional and well balanced collection of songs that embrace many influences within the diverse alt-rock genre(s). Sure, for those seeking the fast and furious, “Get Up” and “So Far” are certainly great choices to quench your thirst. If you are looking for something as raw as possible, go ahead and seek refuge in “The Next One Gone,” with enough distortion and unbelievable big-band energy from these two gentlemen. As much as I love these sweat-drenched sounds, you can only fully appreciate The Dyadics ‘experience’ by playing this album in its entirety.
Whether or not their intention, The Dyadics offer several tracks that draw comparisons to some of the recent mainstream punk music revival. With both “Remember” and “Imaginary Person,” the duo create a buzz that will no doubt appeal to fans of Green Day, The Foo Fighters, and numerous others. If you are looking for a perfect fusion of modern punk and alt-rock, skip to “Someday,” where mainstream radio-friendliness quickly explodes into a frenzied guitar-fest that will have your pulse racing. Fear not, however, this duo are savvy enough to add “You Came” and “Know Me Tonight,” a pair of melodic power ballads designed to bring your heart-rate back down to a less-critical level, whilst earning comparisons to Queensryche in the process (the masters of their genre, at least in my opinion).
There are two tracks on this impressive debut album that stand out for me. “I Still Want You” allows the duo to demonstrate their versatility, both musically and creatively, incorporating some very 1980s inspired synthesizer into the track, and epitomizing a true throwback rock sound. “Someone To Love” is the biggest surprise you are likely to find in this collection. Starting out as a fairly generic slow, romantic rock-ballad, this track gradually morphs into an atmospheric, somewhat moody five and a half minute epic courtesy of Kevin’s high pitched, prog-rock sounding guitar solo(s). With meticulous thought to track placement, this debut album hits all of the highs, lows, and right notes at the right times. A phenomenal debut that sounds every bit as sharp and edgy today as it did almost ten years ago. A highly recommended place to start for anybody unfamiliar with The Dyadics, and a great platform to whet appetites for their highly anticipated new release very soon.
The British guy that crossed the ocean and crash landed in central Pennsylvania (to quote Greg Keelor, “And I wonder what am I doing here?”). As the youngest of four siblings, exposure to music from a very early age nurtured my passion and appreciation for many musical genres. Continuing to discover some amazingly diverse and talented musicians based in Canada, I gravitate to live music experiences and remain devoted to spreading the word about such a vibrant music scene.
