Dentist | Night Swimming

Family Average: 5/7

Well hello there everybody! Its review time once again. This day brings us the stellar band that is Dentist! My bicuspids are just giddy with delight. Hailing from our not so far neighbor New Jersey Dentist is throwing down their own blend of Jangle-Surfing-Rock music. Chock full of emotional lyrics and themes this album had the family feeling more than I did during my last root canal. Gosh some things I wish I could forget. Also want to close this introduction by saying there is a lovely horror movie with a similar name. If you have some time to kill I urge you to check it out.

Look below and see what the family had to say.

“Dentist” is sure to please anyone old enough to remember the Indie Rock band “Belly”. with their 1993 top 10 US Billboard chart hit “feed the trees”. This is a very similar sound with a more modern edgy take. Dentist, a competent trio, is a solid representation of the “garage band from a surf town” genre. The vocals are spot on and I really like the short and concise guitar solos.

Track four “OH” was a stand out with it’s free flowing surf guitar work, and catchy melodies. “Tight spot” was a fun little ride with its driving bass line, it definitely gets your feet moving. It is again complimented by a reverb-laced vibe surf guitar. Complete with some upper string dive bombs, it is quite entertaining. All of the tracks work well together and the album flows effortlessly like high tide flows over the 7th avenue jetty.  

6/7

"Night Swimming" by Dentist is an amazingly fun, high energy punk/indie rock album. Each track is both raw and yet well produced, creating that live energy many bands strive for but are not always able to achieve. This makes them a perfect representation of the ever evolving Asbury Park music scene.   

The hypnotic vocals are matched so naturally with just the right musical arrangement resulting in one great track after another. The perfect album to throw on as you drive or ride your bike to the beach on a beautiful summer day.  At times they kind of remind me of the "Go Go's" when they first came out. They have a similar relatable energy.

As much as I loved all the tracks I think I really liked, "All is well (in Hell)" the best.  I guess because it was different then the other tracks. There was less going on instrumentally which allowed the lead singer's vocals to be the main focus. This allowed you to totally appreciate her talents.

I am so glad we got to review this band and I can't wait to see them live. I am sure that will be a real treat! 

6/7 

Back in the saddle with Dentist! This saddle I refer to is covered in sand and old wax that I left in the car and melted into the cupholders. Does that make sense to people? If you surf it might. What I am trying to say is this is a suuuuuuurf punk album. Blast it on the way to the beach while you disobey all laws of traffic. Shoot it out of a boom box while you feed the ducks if a beach is not accessible to you. I promise it will still sync up well (See video of ducks below).

An album that can cover you in sound this is one that is best played really loud. A band that continues to come to mind is Asobi Seksu. Their similarities are subtle, but I feel a kinship between their overwhelming energy levels is what really brings them together in my mind.

As a band they are a pretty perfect fit for one another. Does my heart good to see a group come together that plays off one another so well. 

5/7 

Asbury Park does it again with Dentist and their latest album, Night Swimming. A rather upbeat, raw and indie pop track after track. Sunny, surfy, and bright in sound, much like the town they come from around this time of year. There is some anxious energy in there as well. Songs delve into the usual tropes of “he doesn’t love me back”, but also get into some more personal themes...particularly social anxieties.  

From reviewing lots (and lots and lots and…) of albums over the past year or so, I’ve seen many artists fall into the trap of either a. Making every song too similar or b. Making an album that feels all over the place. Dentist walks the delicate tightrope of the the two and masters a sound that is very much their own, but with enough variety in the lyrics and melodies to feel like a FULL album. I usually point out a favorite song or two on here and for this reason I really can not. You can’t go wrong. Put on a blindfold, spin around, and point at any song on Night Swimming and you won’t be disappointed.

Get your surf hippie pop fix driving down Ocean Avenue this summer. Play this from Asbury to Manasquan and back again...before all the BENNIES get here and it takes way too long.

6/7

This was a woozy, jingly sort of indie-pop garage-rock mess and I liked it a lot. Dentist is an Asbury Park-based duo that stays true to their NJ roots, fitting right in with that indie-surf rock sound. They've also got a certain '90s garage-band crunch that I love, and mix in more shiny, plasticated pop harmonies that are guaranteed to get people moving.

The vocals are sweet and shiny, the production aggressive, the compositions and instrumentation more dreamy and drifting. It's a really interesting combination, and they've done a nice job channeling it all into into a pretty cohesive sound. Lyrically, they touch on themes of social anxiety and love lost, and will undoubtedly resonate with a wide audience. I think it's pretty tame overall, but definitely suited to be a soundtrack of the summer -- to be blasted on the beach, driving with the windows down, good to release a bit of angst.

4/7

This beachy indie rock album is perfect for a sunny day at the beach with just the right amount of wind. From the rolling surf riffs, to the mellow acoustic sounds, it’s like listening to the essence of the Jersey Shore through a soft pink tint. That doesn’t mean that everything is all happy and bubbly though, just that pink fits the soft eye-squinting sun vibe of this. Like the lyrics have their range of moods. The vocals weren’t what I was expecting. They were soft and high pitched, and while they were filtered it wasn’t like a grungy distortion like you might imagine would go with it. But they are genuine and actually fit the mood perfectly. The first couple of songs felt like they were all generally the same thing, but as the album goes on tracks taken on their own shapes, some forming jagged peaks while others feel more like soft sand bumps.

I understand the echoy aspect is to be expected of this style, but I would have liked for there to be just a bit more clarity on some of the songs, so it didn’t sound so far away. Other than that, this album feels nice and I could definitely see myself listening to it again.

6/7