(2021) Dispatch - Break Our Fall


Review:
D.I.Y. roots rock heroes Dispatch return with a renewed vigor on Break Our Fall, their eighth studio album. Their previous two releases, 2017’s America, Location 12 and its tonally related 2018 sibling Location 13, played almost like anthologies of the Boston band’s various styles and attributes, running the gamut between sunny West Coast folk vibes and harder-edged rock fare. Arriving three tumultuous years later, Break Our Fall is fiery and focused, doubling down on the group’s tendency for socially conscious and politically motivated messaging. It’s also their first album without bassist and founding member Pete Heimbold, leaving guitarist Chadwick Stokes and drummer Brad Corrigan to carry the band’s legacy into its next decade. Fortunately, they do so with aplomb, carving modern-day anthems out of the upheaval of bitter political tension, racial reckoning, climate disaster, and a global pandemic. The album kicks off with one of its highlights in “May We All,” a punchy and poignant rocker calling not only for social justice, but forgiveness. There are blunt condemnations of the Trump administration (“Promise Land”), paeans to the plight of immigrant workers (“Second Class Soldier”), and a surprisingly effective ode to beleaguered 1960s basketball star Connie Hawkins (“The Legend of Connie Hawkins”). If injustice is the fuel that keeps Dispatch engaged, they’re running on a full tank. If anything, Break Our Fall has almost too much to say and might have benefitted from some trimming of its lengthy 15-track sequence. Despite this, there is plenty of energy and passion to go around, making for one of the band’s more satisfying releases.





Track Listing:
1.May We All 04:09
2.All This Time 04:52
3.One By One 02:33
4.As Old As I 02:27
5.The Legend of Connie Hawkins 05:11
6.Silent Type 04:00
7.Break Our Fall 04:30
8.Second Class 04:53
9.Promise Land 04:20
10.Born On Earth 02:29
11.Greta 03:36
12.Elevator Operator 04:18
13.Stoned Enough To Gather In The Night 03:20
14.The Poet Nurse And The Identical Queen 05:19
15.Pour Into You 04:01


Media Report:
Genre: folk-rock, indie-folk
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits