Santa Cruz doom rockers Dusted Angel will release their awaited second album, This Side of the Dirt, tomorrow, Sept. 19, through Heavy Psych Sounds. The band first emerged with a 2009 self-titled EP (review here) and their full-length debut, Earth-Sick Mind (review here), followed in 2010, but as will happen, life and other bands took priority. Vocalist Clifford Dinsmore (also Bl’ast and Spaceboy) got cancer twice, drummer Bill Torgerson (also Bl’ast) passed away, and they were sent reeling, but the eight songs and 40 minutes of This Side of the Dirt demonstrate what Cali underground heavy showgoers have known all along — the band are alive and well. Now a five-piece with Dinsmore and fellow founding members guitarist Eric Feiber and bassist Elliot Young, as well as drummer Steve Ilse (ex-Herbert) and guitarist Eddie Gregor, the band don’t so much erase the last 15 years as bring the sound of Dusted Angel into the present to represent where they’re at now.

I don’t know how long some of this material has been around, but with a decade and a half between records, the greater likelihood is it wasn’t all put together three months before they hit the studio. But if a cut like opener “Plastic People” or the subsequent single “Death Crushes Hope” have been in the works for however long, the record doesn’t is too brash to sound stale. The recording is raw tonally and Dinsmore‘s vocals are largely without effects, so as “Death Crushes Hope” picks up to add speed to the fluid, follow-that-riff! nod of “Plastic People,” the effect is true to the band’s roots in punk and hardcore. That intersection, between riff-centered doom/heavy rock and now-oldschool hardcore punk, is precisely where Dusted Angel will meet you, and while the temptation there is to say “for a beatdown” or some such implication of violence, the truth is This Side of the Dirt as a whole is no more defined by its aggression than by its groove. In any case, there’s plenty of both to go around. Here, that’s a reminder of part of the band’s initial appeal 16 years ago.

That said, for most who take it on, This Side of the Dirt will be their first experience with the band, and so the shove in “Little Lizzy” or the brooding, ultra-West Coast break in the title-track, and the chug in the later verses of the earlier, assumed-it’s-named-for-the-tobacco-company-which-I’m-still-not-sure-is-okay “Redman” will be striking for the perhaps unexpected angle they approach the concept of capital-‘H’ heavy. This becomes a strength for Dusted Angel throughout the LP as the two sides of their sound intertwine and “Kiss o’ Shame” is able to resolve in a riff and noise push that’s emblematic of the blend at its finest. The rawness in their approach, a sans-frills production — that’s not to say it’s too barebones or harsh; tones are full and the mix is balanced, but they’re not trying to be coated in fuzz or effects — bolsters the impression as “This Side of the Dirt” and “Kiss o’ Shame” dig into the center of the record where the vinyl side-split is found, but digitally (like on the album-premiere player below) the structure is of course more linear. In this way, those two songs giving over to “Little Lizzy” mirrors the shift from “Plastic People” and “Death Crushes Hope” into “Redman” at the outset, but that’s not to say the tracks are doing the same thing, because they’re not.

But if you want to look at the tracklisting as two, one, two, one, then the final grouping, “The Thorn” and “Seeking the Dawn” might be said to summarize that procession on a one-to-one basis. “The Thorn” is a little longer, and in classic ’00s-era riff-rock fashion is nearly halfway through its five-minute runtime before the first verse has started (love that), while “Seeking the Dawn” underscores the groove of the entirety while giving a crescendo to top it all off. The last thing to go when it’s all over is the lead guitar, and fair enough for the tumult preceding. By the time they get there, the declarations of purpose and character are long since made, but Dusted Angel neither overstay their welcome, and if there’s a formula at work, it’s malleable enough that they never seem to repeat themselves while at the same time never losing sight of their core direction. It doesn’t necessarily feel like balance, however, with the shouts and angular turns, shoves and changes of meter, but This Side of the Dirt is a more exciting listen as well for that.

The entirety of the album is streaming below, with more background from the PR wire thereafter.

Please enjoy:

Dusted Angel, This Side of the Dirt album premiere

Dusted Angel’s journey is one of passion, perseverance, and reinvention. Frontman Clifford Dinsmore reflects on the band’s history, from its explosive beginnings to its triumphant resurgence.

“It all started in 2008 when I heard Bill Torgerson (Bl’ast!), Eric Dog Feiber, Eliot Young, and Scott Stevens were jamming,” says Dinsmore. “When mutual friend Kieth Meek told me they wanted me to join, I was intrigued. Hearing The Thorn and Seeking The Dawn for the first time blew my mind — I had to be part of it.” After Dinsmore penned the song Dusted Angel, the band adopted the name as their own.

The early years were marked by relentless gigging, a 7” release, and their debut album, Earthsick Mind. But tragedy struck with the loss of Bill Torgerson. “Losing Bill was devastating — he was irreplaceable,” Dinsmore admits. “The only hope was Steve Ilse, who reluctantly joined part-time.” Challenges mounted when Scott Stevens faced nerve damage, slowing the band’s momentum. Still, they shared stages with Fu Manchu, High on Fire, and Melvins, keeping the fire alive.

Personal battles followed — Dinsmore survived two cancers, a bone marrow transplant, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Dusted Angel endured, playing sparse shows as a four-piece before finding new life with guitarist Eddie Gregor. “When Eddie joined, everything clicked,” says Dinsmore. “For the first time in years, we felt like a real band again.”

Now, with a new album, a deal with Heavy Psych Sounds, and global ambitions, Dusted Angel is charging forward. “The momentum is unstoppable,” Dinsmore declares. “We’re ready for whatever comes next.”

TRACKLIST
SIDE A
Plastic People – 5:23
Death Crushes Hope – 6:21
Redman – 3:32
This Side of the Dirt – 5:20
SIDE B
Kiss O Shame – 6:21
Little Lizzy – 4:05
The Thorn – 5:11
Seeking the Dawn – 4:28

DUSTED ANGEL is:
Elliot Young – Bass
Eric Fieber – Guitars
Clifford Dinsmore – Vocals
Steve Ilse – Drums
Eddie Gregor – Guitars

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Heavy Psych Sounds website

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Tags: California, Dusted Angel, Dusted Angel This Side of the Dirt, Heavy Psych Sounds, Santa Cruz, This Side of the Dirt

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