Dag Nasty Wig Out at Denkos

Dag Nasty 'Wig Out at Denkos' (Dischord Records, 1987)

After a long hiatus brought about by various festival and band shenanigans as well as a seemingly never ending search for Blip prop, it was whilst cladding my collection in the 1000 plastic covers Lu had presented me with that I realised I had to get back to Blip world. That and a polite kick up the arsch from my Germanic chum Kai.

We enter into the world of 'D' with a beautiful record. 'Wig Out at Denkos' is a classic. Brilliantly considered melodic hardcore which is fantastic in every way. All the performances are top notch; Brian Baker's guitar soars with melody, the rhythm section drives relentlessly with post punk military precision (check out the stellar 'Exercise) and Colin Sears delivers some of the most emotional and melodic, yet still based in hardcore, vocals conceived.

Yes, debut LP, 'Can I Say', with the iconic Dave Smalley on vocals, is/was considered the blueprint for all melodic hardcore, but 'Wig Out at Denkos' is the stand out Dag Nasty release as far as I'm concerned.

There are weak moments, particularly 'When I Move' and 'Crucial Three', but they are still totally endearing. However, all weakness is swept away by the absolute brilliance of 'Trying', 'Safe', 'Fall', 'Simple Minds' and the standout opening track 'The Godfather' which is perhaps the greatest emo song ever committed to tape. The title track is also a classic and contains the line, 'Someone let Yoni drive' who turned out to be Yanni from Stinking Lizaveta (this video is directed by our Texan mate Moses), a band who Ricky and Fraser befriended after some great gigs in Edinburgh. It's strange how our little punk world works.

Bought at the same time as SNFU's 'Better Than a Stick in the Eye' at the wee Avalanche in Lady Lawson Street, 'Wig Out at Denkos' brings memories of skating, Scandia Green and not caring about very much at all. Listening to this record, twice in row, has made me extremely happy. You can't really beat that.

Strength and love Herr Siewert and thanks to Layla for the wig.

Peace