The Dimes have revamped boring history classes into a pristine musical collection.
Composed of Johnny Clay, Pierre Kaiser, Kelly Masigat, Ryan Johnston, Tucker Jackson, Anthony Powell and Matt Farina, this American folk-pop collective from Portland, Oregon has been likened to the old country charm and sixties pop sensibility.
After their debut album Silent Generation which is based on old newspaper articles, The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry is another literary experimentation that offers a steady doze of early Boston history.
Released last year, the 12-track album evokes rich narratives and wonderful melodies heavily influenced by musical mentors like The Beatles.
The band’s attempt to combine their passion for both music and history has given them the edge to compose artfully-written songs complemented with melodies that ring out.
Save Me Clara is a tribute to Clara Barton, founder of Red Cross, from the point of view of a dying soldier. This amazing track, backed up with a harmonica and Johnny Clay’s vocals is sweet to the ear.
Damrell’s Fire talks about The Great Boston Fire of 1872. It showcases sophisticated arrangements and warm harmonies.
Songs like Celia’s Garden, Webster Thayer, The Liberator and many more provides black and white images of old Boston.
Rarely can you discover a band that fully understands its subject matter. The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry is a risky yet successful collection of beautifully-written songs that manages to instil an educational focus while playing great folk music.
UPDATE: Since our review was posted, the band has started charging $4.99 for the “The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry” album. Nonetheless, they have put out a free compilation of songs from across their four past releases entitled “A Field Guide to The Dimes” in order to give their potential fans a free to downloadable taste of their past creative endeavors. Consecutively, we have changed the download link on top of this page to point to the free sampler and the player within the post to reflect that change as well. You can still listen to the “The King Can Drink The Harbour Dry” album for free – you just can’t download it any more.
Related Links:
The Dimes on Bandcamp
The Dimes on Myspace
The Dimes on Facebook
The Dimes on Tumblr