Dial F for Frankenstein have recently had a spot of trouble with their merchandising, a bunch of T-shirts coming back from the printers with the band name misspelt. Howlingly, it was the first word that was wrong, not the last. Still, with a song recently included on Channel 4’s teen drama Skins, a cover appearance on local magazine Nightshift and the delivery of a solid follow up single to the excellent ‘Wes Vega’, you can’t help thinking that a few funky T-shirts seem to be the only thing in their debit column at the moment.
‘USA’ springs from Dial F’s punky past (strictly post-hardcore, apparently), but it’s also the product of a greater pop sensibility, with big, gripping melodies increasingly seen as more important than finger-flying bass lines or furious sonic assault. The trend is continued with this focussed, workmanlike track, which draws on multifarious million-selling American acts; the likes of Foo Fighters, Green Day and the Strokes can be heard in the mix. It’s good, growly, ballsy fun, if not overly original, but if they can produce a couple more hook-laden singles of this sort, then they should probably be practicing their signatures soon.