Dose Your Dreams

The late of once said, "Punk is whatever we made it to be," and no band that has emerged since the turn of the century has taken that message to heart like . 's musical and philosophical roots are deep in hardcore punk, but they've never allowed the accepted boundaries of the genre to rein them in. Musically, still believe in the power of a big guitar and a howling voice, but they're aesthetic polytheists, with elements of prog rock, indie rock, experimental music, psychedelia, electronics, and dance music all informing 2018's . Easily the band's most ambitious work to date (no small statement given their catalog), is a sprawling two-disc set that follows the story of David Eliade (the protagonist of 2011's concept album ) as he loses his low-level office job, meets a homeless conjurer named Joyce Tops, and is sent on a journey of discovery that's physical, psychological, and spiritual in nature. The flow of the album's larger narrative isn't always clear, but each individual selection is a compelling and challenging story in itself, and it coheres into a whole bigger than the sum of the parts. And musically, is a truly remarkable ride, with traveling in directions even their most loyal fans might not expect, including languid atmospheric pop ("Two I's Closed"), buzzy industrial rhythms ("Mechanical Bull"), burly rave-friendly psychedelia ("Talking Pictures"), and even the cool but insistent pulse of disco (the title track). While these elements are filtered through the towering guitars of , the explosive drumming of , the rock-solid bass work of , and (usually) the feral howl of , all the songs on manage to have distinct personalities of their own that still sound like facets of 's sonic mindset, no matter how far they stray from their hardcore roots. Just as and his bandmates turned 's into an epic journey through their nearly endless musical possibilities, have done something very similar with , creating a work of passion and creative daring that once again reminds us are not just a great punk band, they're a great band that acknowledges no creative borders. It's probably premature to call 's masterpiece, but most bands would be very lucky to make something this daring and accomplished once in their careers, let alone twice. ~ Mark Deming