Dinosaur Pile-Up
Celebrity Mansions

THE REVIEW

“Celebrity Mansions” by Dinosaur Pile-Up is, at the moment, the rock album of the year.

Parlophone (the new album is the first major label release for the British trio) really made a wise bet on the band led by Matt Bigland, who, on their fourth studio attempt (four years after that “Eleven Eleven,” which faced serious production and distribution issues), delivers an amazing album, encompassing all the best features that the genre in question can offer.

Firstly, there is no burden of the problems that plagued the previous effort, and it really shows: the Dinosaurs entertain and are entertained, and it really shows. Alongside very high-quality alt-rock writing, they manage to combine a disarming lightness and perfectly calibrated melodies, producing an astonishingly enjoyable album without sacrificing a single bit of quality.

The beginning is electrifying and would knock anyone out: the two singles “Thrash Metal Cassette” and the superb “Back Foot” are a blend of energy, melodic exuberance, and references never self-referential. If the first kicks off with a monumental track like “White Limo” by the Foo Fighters before throwing in anything catchy that you can think of (a super intensive pop-punk refrain that leads to a cheerleader-style chorus, for example), the second is a rap-metal assault in full Limp Bizkit style that ends up in the more kindred (to the band) “nirvanisms” of the bridge.

DPU continues with a parade of fun and amused tracks, where the writing flows smoothly, and Bigland enjoys broadening his range (even vocally) as he has never done before (as in “Black Limousine,” which seems like an outtake from the early Feeder, and the fantastic “Professional Freak,” which, like “Pouring Gasoline,” recalls the very first Foo Fighters – those raw and dirty ones from the debut album).

The title track and “K West” slow things down slightly, brushing against the Weezer of “Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Stupid Heavy Metal Broken Hearted Loser Punk” is pure pop-punk tainted with grunge, and the third single “Round The Bend” perfectly recreates the atmospheres of certain '90s hyper-melodic and sentimental rock, managing to delight.

A fantastic album from a really thriving band that has found its perfect place in the world. Referential but never too much, nostalgic just enough to enchant and not bore, “Celebrity Mansions” is a delight that arrives just in time to be the rock album of the summer and, if things go as they should, a small great classic of the genre.

Best track: Professional Freak