Girl at the Rock Shows

It’s super stormy up here in Minneapolis tonight. It has me wanting to just stay in and watch the storms roll through while cuddled up on the couch, but I have a bucket list show to go to tonight, so that’s not an option. I need to get in the mood to go out, and I’m hoping that checking out Bogart the Stash’s new album ‘Alive Tonight’ will make me feel just that– ‘Alive Tonight.’

The songs on this twelve-song album may be short, but they all pack a punch, as proved by the opening track, “Kickin’ In.” This quick and punchy punk song is full of life, and even though it’s just a minute and twenty seconds long, it gives you a good taste of what’s to come from Bogart the Stash. It’s brash and raw with an abrasive quality to it, but it keeps from merging into an aggressive lane. This song was just what I needed to bring me back to life after my afternoon nap and before my show tonight.

“Rest of Your Life” somehow feels just a bit faster and more furious than “Kickin’ In” and starts to lean into a slightly more aggressive tone. Honestly, the vocals styling in this song instantly reminded me of NOFX. There’s something almost Fat Mike-esque about the tone of the vocals in this song that I missed in the first song. That matched a distinct drum tone that felt very much like Fat Wreck Chords, making the song feel like it was straight off one of my playlists as an angsty teenager, and I was absolutely here for that.

From what I heard about Bogart the Stash, this solo project from Dusty Denton likes to dabble into a million different sounds and styles. His first album was more electronic dance-focused, and he has plans for albums that dig into other styles. As the title track, “Alive Tonight,” played through, I couldn’t help but wonder why when Bogart the Stash clearly does punk so well. Like the previous two tracks, this is a no-frills punk song —the way it should be. Although it continues with the short and punchy style that reigns supreme throughout this album, this song lays out a full thought. Obviously, I’m not going to reveal what that thought is because you should really hear it for yourself, but I will share the fact that this song has an anthemic chorus that will absolutely get stuck in your head.

The next two songs, “Time for Change” and “Lifes too Short,” are more solid examples of what punk should be: raw and down and dirty. Unfortunately, as we get into these fourth and fifth tracks on the album, I realize that I am running out of new things to say. Don’t get me wrong, these two songs are both great, and they continue to expand on Bogart the Stash’s perfectly crafted sound and energy, but, truthfully, they kind of sound like the previous tracks. Normally, that’s a bad thing, and it makes the album a bit of a snooze fest, but that’s not how I mean it this time around. Truly, every song on this album is full of life, and even though there are similarities between all of the tracks thus far, every song brings something to the table when it comes to this album, so don’t snooze on these songs. Rather, sit back and enjoy.

“More Pay Less Labor” seemed to hit me in a different way than the previous tracks. There’s something a bit more “classic” about the style of this song. Okay, maybe that’s not the right way to describe it, but the guitar tone is a bit less gritty in the intro of this song, which really caught my attention. Have no fear; it doesn’t stay clear, and the distinct vocals of Bogart the Stash bring that grit back to the forefront, but I liked having this little taste of cleanliness to show some versatility to this musician.

Much like the guitar tone that kicked off “More Pay Less Labor” caught me, the drums that start “Brainwash,” as simple as they are, caught me, too. It gave me a little pop-punk frill in the vein of old-school Green Day. The fact that the vocals in this song take on a more tender tone only emphasizes the ever-so-slight pop-punk influence that the drum pattern gave me. I love that, although this song is absolutely still in the punk vein of this album as a whole, it shows a different side of punk that Bogart the Stash clearly does, as well as what was laid out in the previous songs.

I hate to keep comparing Bogart the Stash to Fat Mike, but, really, I can’t think of a better comparison, but it’s not just Fat Mike. It’s also Fat Mike’s Cokie the Clown persona. That’s the vibe I get from “One and the Same.” I wouldn’t call this a somber song in any way, yet there was something just slightly more depressive about something in this song that, although I couldn’t put my finger on it, is absolutely there. Even though I was picking up on something just slightly sadder here, there’s no denying the infectious energy that comes with the beat of this song. At three and a half minutes long, “One and the Same” is the longest song on this album, and it just happens to be one of my favorites as well.

The political tones of this album come through loud and clear throughout every song, but I feel like they really come to light during “Never Give Up.” This rallying cry of an anthemic punk song is perfect if you’re one of those people who have been out there fighting for change recently. I promise not to make this overly political or anything like that, but this is a song I will definitely keep in my back pocket as things continue to get weirder and weirder in this country.

I love the way that “Where There’s a Will…” relates back to “Never Give Up.” I mean, even the song titles work together perfectly, but the way these two songs seem to play off of each other shows that there was thought put into the order of the songs on this album, and I love that. I feel like it proves that although there’s definitely a punk spirit that reigns supreme throughout this album, there’s also intention here.

“No Direction” and “Social Media Score” end this album the way it started– full of piss, vinegar, and perfection. Although some of the shortest of the already short songs, each of these songs will hit you with a message that makes sure to keep Bogart the Stash’s name floating in your head regardless of what you have planned next with your day.

I feel like I could have said so much more about each of these songs. I could have asked Bogart the Stash for the lyrics and really dug into those, but, honestly, this is the kind of album that was so fun to just let play and get lost in a punk energy that I feel like so many acts these days overthink. There’s nothing perfect about the recording quality of this album, but that’s what makes it perfect. It relates back to the legends from back in the day on Fat Wreck Chords while carving a space in that world for the name Bogart the Stash.

Tl;dr: Awaken that punk spirit that’s inside of you. Let ‘Alive Tonight’ from Bogart the Stash bring you back to life after it was sucked out of you from a crappy day job or just a crappy day in general. Bogart the Stash is here to remind you that punk is not going anywhere– if anything, it’s come back with a vengeance, and he is at the front line of that comeback with the genius that is ‘Alive Tonight.’

Bogart the Stash on Bandcamp

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