Out In the Community

Album Review

Emoting the lyrics in a style that recalls Ray Davies and Mick Jagger, the Quags' lead singer, Dennis Mitchell, does a wonderful job on "Out in the Community." It's a summer pop/rock song that has an adequate supply of crunchy guitar riffs. "Danna Was an Artist" has more of a downbeat feeling through it, but has enough hooks à la the Kinks to keep the listener's interest. At times the group falls into a complacency, particularly on the melodic pop of "Living Hell." Mitchell possesses a certain snarl in his vocals also, resembling a youthful Elvis Costello on "Over the Rainbow." Love ballads aren't the group's forte, though; they miss the mark completely on the soppy "It's Only Fair to Say" — a bland organ and minimal amount of guitar result in a listless three minutes. Fortunately, it's a rare mistake. "So Beautiful" is quite a pretty power pop song that maintains an underlying tension. One noticeable trait is that the Quags can evolve from ragged rock & roll to airtight arrangements within one song, recalling groups such as Sloan and the Odds. "Sea Hag" is evident of this. Some listeners might complain about the abrupt stops and starts between songs, sounding like a homemade cassette-tape compilation. The album's greatest track has to be the sweet harmonies on the uplifting, toe-tapping "What Do You Know?." Other influences tend to be a sobering Tom Petty on the ballad-like "Dream Song #11."