The Bottom Line A better than average slice of the music scene from 1995. Probably world shelling out seventy-five cents (plus shipping) to check it out.
Full Review
It is good business for record companies to release albums that will have automatic audiences and appeal. Usually, this behavior leads to the rehashing of long since cliché sounds and tried and true artists. But it is on occasion that they must try to be the first to the gate with the “next big thing.”
The state of the industry in 1995 was such that everybody knew that grunge was dead. Sure some of the bands from the era were still making music, but most had broken up, gone back underground, or become major musical jokes. So what was the next big thing? Certainly it had nothing to do with the post-grunge movement. Maybe the next big thing was a return to heavier, less dark and sludgy rock. Maybe the next big thing was Dink. A blend of heavy metal, industrial, techno and even a splash of RHCP-style funk for extra panache the band’s music was good but certainly not enough so to guarantee them much for hits or a following.
Dink formed in Kent, Ohio during 1993 and released a few EPs and just one album in 1995. Signed by Capitol records, the band had a great deal of potential that to this day has been left unfulfilled. Sean Carlin (guitar, vocals), Rob Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Jeff Finn (bass), Jan Eddy Van der Kuil (drums), and Jer Herring (guitar, singer) might was certainly a flash in the pan of musical culture in 1995, but their self-titled debut did manage to gain the attention of late-night MTV for long enough for watchers to catch a glimpse of the band on 120 Minutes or Beavis and Butthead with their video for their only hit single Green Mind.
Green Mind represents the best of what the band had to offer. The loud industrial rock n’ roll was upbeat, entertaining, and easy to dance to. The album, and more specifically this song and the overall sound, had all the makings of the “next big thing.” Apparently the buying public had different ideas. Dink makes purely entertaining music, though it does little to stimulate the emotions outside of the programmed beats and industrial rhythms. But sometimes this disregard for the profundity of the world is refreshing. There are much worse albums from the post-grunge era in 1995 that should at all costs be avoided.
In some ways this album seems to have two personalities. It begins with a grungy, heavy metal persona. 3 Big Bags and Running Red are decent enough tracks, but both are pretty forgettable. Lightbody monotonously raps ala Anthony Kiedis just above vaguely industrial alt-metal. But no positive or negative elements stand out on 3 Big Bags and Running Red. Certainly the band has something more to offer…certainly they are more than just an amalgamation of all rock genres in the mid part of the last decade.
Of course, there is more to Dink as evidenced by the change in direction the disc makes after the first two songs. This switch in momentum is for the better of the album, because suddenly this average album turns into something more than averagely compelling. Green Mind was definitely a smart choice for a first (and in the end only) single. The first noticeable change is that Dink has changed to a thick, almost White Zombie-esque sound. But there is a difference; the Ohio band is significantly more electronic. Nothing about Green Mind is bland. The track whirrs, wails, yowls, grinds energetically and in the end is entirely unforgettable.
Surprisingly, there was more to Dink than just that one song. As the debut progresses the band occasionally adds even heavier levels of techno and electronica to the equation. Water and Urban Suicide are incredible tracks and probably led many people to the discovery of an entirely different genre of music. Urban Suicide is the only other even slightly recognizable track outside of the album’s covers. The low, distorted, gravelly synth-metal track made appearances in the occasional film (Bad Boys) and ad for good reason…it rocks.
Dink changes gears slightly with Angels. Seemingly a modern day New Wave, the song works well though seems a bit strange in the context of this overall heavier album. The Heroin Song is on the other hand damn near brilliant. Lightbody fiendishly growls over kinetic programmed beats and melodies. But the real appeal is in the creative way the band blends rock base with techno and hip-hop elements.
A few of the remaining songs are fine, a few are pretty bad. Get on It samples James Brown throughout (you can hear him throughout with a single word…hey), but with that said Dink should have come up with a better song in general. It feels in some ways like a 80’s rap track not at all dissimilar from It Takes To by Rob Base and DJ Ez Rock. Of course there are thick rock guitars, but something about it just doesn’t work. Once again relying for a time on a sample (monotonously read lyrics from none other than Jimi Hendrix), In Her Head soon wanes out of the line of interest. Nothing about the song is worthwhile.
Rocks and Dirt do little to redeem the band. In all, Dink is worth hearing, especially considering the album can be gotten for a mere 75 ¢ at Half.com. It’s better than average, but only slightly and as such the not-quite-famous act has earned the benefit of the doubt. Since the modest success of their debut, Dink has done very little. The band briefly resurfaced in 1996 with EP Blame it on Tito. Otherwise, they’ve been completely silent. If you enjoy surprisingly light-hearted and entertaining industrial-techno-rock-rap then Dink might just hit the spot.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. 3 Big Bags
02. Running Red
03. Green Mind
04. Water
05. Urban Suicide
06. Angels
07. The Heroin Song
08. Get on It
09. In Her Head
10. Rocks
11. Dirt
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