Dinosaur Pile-Up - Nature Nurture
by Adrian Huggins
published: 15 / 7 / 2013

Label:
So Recordings
Format: CD
intro
Superb punk pop on second album from much acclaimed Leeds-based outfit, Dinosaur Pile-Up
Having recorded nigh on all of Dinosaur Pile-Up’s first album ‘Growing Pains’ himself, lead singer/guitarist Matt Bigland is pretty much the main man when it comes to this band. He has set out with the intention with this third album of making “pop songs that kick in the face and wake you up”, and it doesn’t take too much time listening to ‘Nature Nurture’ to realise that he’s done a pretty decent job of that. I say it doesn’t take too much time, and by the chorus ‘Arizona Waiting’ I had come to this conclusion. Moments like ‘White T-shirt and Jeans’ and ‘Start Again’ manage to simultaneously make Dinosaur Pile-Up sound like Weezer’s moody younger brother and Fall Out Boy’s credible and cooler older brother. So maybe they’re the perfect middle child, and yes I am aware that they are younger than both bands, but you get the idea. There is enough maturity about the song writing and sound for this to rise far above the band’s pop-rock/punk status. ‘Derail’ and ‘The Way We Came’ serve up as fine examples of this. Without wishing to confuse things further, fans of Dinosaur Jr would probably very much enjoy ‘Heather’ and ‘Lip Hook Kiss’. ‘Draw a Line’, with its minimal beginning and furious yet gorgeously melodic chorus make me sort of wish John Peel could have heard this, and and as such I implore you to check it out accordingly as you probably shouldn’t be listening to music if you don’t like this. I found ‘Nature Nurture’ a slightly more complete album than the band’s previous full length effort and, although it certainly has a less carefree feel about it , the unmistakable glint in its eye is ever present throughout.
Track Listing:-
1 Arizona Waiting2 Derail
3 Peninsula
4 Heather
5 Summer Gurl
6 White T-Shirt And Jeans
7 The Way We Came
8 Draw A Line
9 Start Again
10 Lip Hook Kiss
11 Nature Nurture
Band Links:-
http://www.dinosaurpileup.com/https://twitter.com/DINOSAURPILEUP
https://www.facebook.com/dinosaurpileup
http://dddpppuuu.tumblr.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dpuofficial/
https://www.youtube.com/user/dinosaurpileup
Label Links:-
http://sorecordings.com/https://www.facebook.com/SoRecordings
https://twitter.com/SoRecordings
https://www.youtube.com/user/silvaoak
https://instagram.com/sorecordings/
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reviews |
My Rock 'n' Roll (2011) |
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Energetic, heavily Nirvana-influenced reissue of single from last year for up-and-coming Leeds-based band, Dinosaur Pile-Up |
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