Album Review: Lil Daggers - Lil Daggers

There's something rather interesting going on down there in Florida these days, friends. Witness, if you will, the emergence of Lil Daggers. They arrive from Miami carrying the torch for a warped breed of slightly sinister, dirty garage swamp psych rock. They make one heck of a mess, does Lil Daggers. And it is oh so wonderful to behold.

The joys of Lil Daggers are many and varied, indeed. This self-titled racket begins with the quickened, harried pulse of "Wasting," a frenzied, organ-driven bit of uproar. "Slave Exchange" beats a spooky refrain, with the organ taking on a Zombies (or perhaps actual zombies) swirl and the pace slowing down just a shade. This is definitely not music I would associate with Miami. The sunshine and beachiness have been ignored, Lil Daggers instead favoring the darker side of Florida.

One of my favorite songs on the record is the impeccably creepy "Ghost Herd." It verges on melodramatic, at times, vocally, but the skulking slink of the song has an undeniable appeal. Also a current favorite is "Past Due," with brassy, slightly monotonous tones permeating the vocals and a distinct 60s flavor. It's also a foot-tapper, this one. So too is the excellent "Dada Brown," full of no shortage of sonic bravado, swaggering and shimmying as it does all over the dang place. I also can't help but love the Stooges-esque slow groove of "Dead Golden Girls." The whole thing channels "I Wanna Be Your Dog" in varying degrees, and the jaunty bursts of organ and "ooh ooh"-ing add infinitely to backing up the song's strut.

All told, I hereby decree that I hereby loves me some Lil Daggers. I also hereby decree that you should hereby loves you some Lil Daggers. Forever and ever amen.

m4a: Dead Golden Girls (Lil Daggers from Lil Daggers)