Mixtape Muse: REVIEW: Dom - Sun Bronzed Greek Gods (Remixed/Remastered)

Dom - Sun Bronzed Greek Gods EP
MM1/2

Back in 2009, a lot of people on the internet went ballistic about The Pains of Being Pure at Heart (debut album from band of the same name). The record is a gift-wrapped collection of indie pop-rock tunes, ready and waiting to wriggle their way into your brain...they did, but for most, only for a short time.

It's one thing to write a hook that catches the ear at first listen, and another to write one that sticks with a person for the entire day. Dom, a happy little rock outfit from Worcester, MA, have figured out how to do the former, but they're a long ways a way from the latter. Of the seven songs on the EP (re-released on Astralwerks/Burning Mill this past week), "Burn Bridges" comes the closest to a sing-a-long anthemic pop tune.

It's not that Dom haven't developed a good formula or don't have an ear for catchy-little melodies -- on the contrary pretty much every tune has a hummable chorus. Still, songs like "Jesus" and "Hunny" come off dynamically flat. Part of writing that evasive earworm is coming up with a hook that grabs the listener emotionally and pulls us out of our aural trance. What Dom have done on Sun Gods is put a bunch of well-woven hooks together without a break in tone or change in emotion. At the same time that the music is a bit cliché (yet still fun), it's also too much of a good thing. It's best when those special, arresting moments are hidden with a song (but, hey, it's all subjective).

One thing's for sure: if this is what the band can do before they have any serious production weight behind them, there's no telling how slick their first full-length record could be with a bit more agression and variation in their song-writing. Dom, regardless of a slightly monotonous tone in Sun Bronzed, have a lot of promise.

Dom's EP is remixed and remastered as of this week, available via Astralwerks/Burning Mill. They're also on tour pretty much all throughout March and April.

Dom on Mypsace
Sun Bronzed Greek Gods via Amazon

DOM TOUR DATES

Mar 05 Northampton, MA - Iron Horse*

Mar 11 Charlottesville, VA - Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar

Mar 13 Atlanta, GA - 529

Mar 14 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's

Mar 15 New Orleans, LA - Circle Bar

Mar 16 – Mar 19 SXSW

Mar 20 Dallas, TX - Bro Fest

Mar 22 Scottsdale, AZ - Martini Ranch**

Mar 23 San Diego, CA - Soda Bar**

Mar 24 Irvine, CA - Acrobatics Everyday**

Mar 25 Eagle Rock, CA - Eagle Rock Center for the Arts !