Double Dagger is a musical trio from Baltimore – comprised of just bass, drums, and vocals – who play a thoughtful mix of minimalistic hardcore and dancy post-punk.

I relate Double Dagger to bands like Sinaloa and Q and not U because the focal point of the music that they create, at least for me, is that it promotes this idea that you should constantly be in an argument with your surroundings – questioning the validity of your beliefs and critiquing the mechanisms of society that you deem unjust.

What’s so great about Double Dagger is that while their lyrics are full of all of these social critiques the music is accessible enough to get people who may be unfamiliar with the broad ‘punk rock’ subculture to start listening and hopefully start thinking about these issues.

A quick quote from a review of their 2007 release Ragged Rubble -

“…But with new full-length Ragged Rubble released this summer, the band maintains its self-proclaimed designcore sound while becoming astute political voices against Baltimore’s overzealous waterfront gentrification…

…Beatbots editor Justin Blemly says “Singer Nolen Stral’s vocals sound more urgent and inflammatory than ever, gravitating here towards themes of modern consumer culture and the yuppification of Baltimore city. On ‘Luxury Condos for the Poor’ he decries, ‘you’ve lived here your whole life / well it’s time to get out / we’re building waterfront grave sites, 30 stories high / where dreams of fictional people live, while the city around you dies’. A serious document of what’s going on in the ‘Greatest City in America’ right now.”" – via Butter Team

Download HERE.

Purchase HERE (I assume whenever it’s posted).

Myspace HERE.

Fun Facts that were edited out:

+ Two of the members, vocalist Nolen Strals and bassist Bruce Willen,  also comprise the graphic design team Post Typography.

+ A quote from the City Paper:

“Probably half our songs are about graphic design and how it relates to how people are and societal blah blah blah,” Strals says. “[Our newest song] is about how the use of bad fonts like Comic Sans and Tekno is the equivalent of moshing.” In fact, the name “Double Dagger” comes from a typographic symbol, and one of its songs is titled “I Don’t Know Which I Hate More, You or Quark.” – via Baltimore City Paper

Age Sixteen is gearing up to release their debut full length album entitled Open Up Finders, Please on March 16th through 229 Records.  I’ve been anticipating this album for quite some time because their live performances – which rule – always leave me wanting to read their lyrics and dissect their riffs.

I’m happy to say that Age Sixteen does not disappoint.  They’ve managed to craft 9 songs (clocking in at just over 20 minutes) into an album that succeeds in finding a balance between the melodic undertones of recent Pennsylvania based bands like Boy Problems and Street Smart Cyclist with the chaotic nature of late 90′s screamo staples like Joshua Fit for Battle and Ampere. This merging of styles creates an extremely dynamic sound, which I know is such an over used term for this type of band, but Age Sixteen’s song structures breathe fresh air into the stop/start rhythms that have become so typical in the genre.

The album closer The Lion and the Gazelle showcases this point beautifully.  The first minute of the song consists of nauseating feedback, rushed vocals, and a start/stop rhythm that sounds ridiculously heavy.  Then the song reaches its breaking point, the instrumentation falls apart leaving only drums and ringing feedback with quiet guitar riffs that subtly break up the noise.  Then the spoken vocals enter and the mood of the song shifts from fast and angry to a much lighter and hopeful tone with melodic instrumentation providing an appropriate backdrop.  While The Lion and the Gazelle provides a good example of Age Sixteens two most prominent styles of influence don’t expect the rest of the album to be dissected so easily.  The rest of the album is focused on blending many elements together to create a distinct style – which they succeed in doing.

Because of the complex nature of these songs there are a few awkward musical passages to be found (specifically in the intro to As Personal As a Greeting Card) but these songs are so full of riffs and creative chord progressions that you will forgive and forget.

Lyrically this album primarily focuses on the dissolution of family bonds, strained relationships, and the general struggles that you face when you grow up and out of touch with the people that you love.  Kris’ lyrics are delivered with a sincerity that couples well with these songs.  He has a kind of meandering yell that fluctuates between rushed spoken word portions to more aggressive yells and, once in a while, to full on screams.  I particularly like when he uses his voice to introduce new riffs/phrases into the songs.  The song Empty Nest makes use of this technique with great emotional effect when he variates between speaking and yelling the phrase “My Father is falling apart while my Mother sews.”  When the band joins him with a build up on his final yell I can’t help but smile because it is absolutely perfect.

This is a great album that I fully endorse buying and showing to all of your friends.  It’s fast, depressing, angry, and hopeful all wrapped up in a layer of feedback and fast percussion.

Also, if you’re into the album GO SEE THIS BAND LIVE.  The album doesn’t match up to their live show, but that’s how it goes (and how it should be) with most screamo bands.  It’s all about the live interaction.

Download HERE.

Visit Age Sixteen’s Myspace HERE.

Read Kris’ Musical Suggestions HERE.