Album/EP

Dune Rats - Hurry Up and Wait (Album Review)

Walladmin

Heavy Metal Wordsmith

/10

Jan 29, 2020

7 min read

Dune Rats - Hurry Up and Wait
Released: 31st January 2020

Line-up:

Danny Beugs // vocals & guitar
Brett Jansch // vocals & bass
BC Michaels // vocals & drums

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Brisbane stoner rockers Dune Rats have celebrated huge success off the back of their last album, 2017's The Kids Will Know It's Bullshit from selling out shows around the country and even playing shows overseas, spreading their weirdness and stoner attitudes to international audiences. Now the three-piece are back and ready to do it all again with the follow-up third full-length, Hurry Up And Wait. Have the lads grown up and matured? Hardly. Have they progressed musically? Maybe. Grab your nearest bong and find out...

The beginning of Hurry Up And Wait starts off with a recording of a voicemail message from their stoned AF mate "Bobby D", which is a proper segue into what I'm going to classify as the first official musical song of the album. Titled 'Bobby D', the track launches into tight pop punkish guitar riffs and the line "YEAH! Crazy mother fuckers!" over and over. It's a fun, short track that Blink-182 would have been proud of. 'Rubber Arm' also has a similar punk guitar riff, accompanied by the lads' all-too-familiar vocals. While this track is a tad repetitive, it's a classic Dunies anthem and a bit of fun to jam to.

What I've noticed so far on this album is that the instrumentals are much cleaner, tighter and more polished. Did the guys manage to take five on the smoking and record a decent album? Well, if they did, 'No Plans' is the best example of a sober Dune Rats (if ever there was such a thing though!). The guitars soar right throughout this track, and the vocals soar even higher. This is a straight up banger, and if you weren't a Dunies fan before, I can almost guarantee that once you hear this song, you will be. It's an absolute anthem for living the life of doing absolutely... nothing. It reminds me of living life as a travelling snowboarder back in the day, so I guess that's why I resonate so well with it.

After 'No Plans', this whole record starts to get a lot more fun. 'Rock Bottom' is a catchy tune about feeling like shit, with a somewhat positive spin. The guitar riffs here once again, sound slightly more pop punk and on another level we haven't really heard from those crazy motherfuckers. 'Crazy' is the ideal blend between old and new Dune Rats. While it's almost as catchy as previous single 'No Plans', it also definitely vibes along the same lines as their older material.

The boys haven't gone completely sober on us on this record, of course. By the time you listen to 'Patience' and those "na-na-na's" hit, the band's laidback, stoner attitudes return from here on in. 'Bad Habits' lyrically sounds like an ode to stoners everywhere, and they're probably singing about each other here, but it's not like they give a fuck about that. This fun, no-fucks-given manner is clear on 'Stupid Is As Stupid Does' and this is my second favourite track on the album. The guest vocals on this one by US singer/songwriter K.Flay makes it even more fun by adding a subtle pop substance.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZraFyhmPyxU&w=560&h=315]

The latter part of Hurry Up And Wait feels like very classic Dunies. I mean, it wouldn't be a Dune Rats album without a song title referring directly to smoking a bong. While it's more or less talking about times when you wish you had friends to smoke a joint with (or maybe it's about the effect of being high?), 'If My Bong Could Talk' is short, fast and a whole tonne of fun. The lads slow it down with 'The Skids', and I'm not too sure what exactly they're referring to here, but they may or may not be taking the piss out of taking a shit here. Finishing off with a short singalong, 'Mountains Come And Go But Aussie Pub Rock Lives On (Forever)' sounds like the perfect pub gig closing tune, and I feel like that's what they were going for here. Could definitely see this going down a fucking treat if the guys were to play Snowtunes festival one day.

Dune Rats have definitely upped their game musically on Hurry Up And Wait, ultimately heading in a more pop punk direction. While they're still singing songs about smoking a joint or two, the guitars are tighter, making the overall music way more prominent than has been previously. The Dunies have proven to the world that they're not just 3 stoner skater dudes making sounds on their guitars. They're here to make punk rock music fun and are having a mad tonne of fun at the same time too!