Dambuilders

(Translated from my original Italian text by ChatGPT and Piero Scaruffi)

The Dambuilders formed in Hawaii in the late 1980s when Dave Derby and Eric Masunaga’s Exactones changed their name. The new band debuted with the album A Young Person's Guide (Cuacha, 1989). The lineup was: Dave Derby on vocals and bass, Eric Masunaga on electric guitars, Tryan George on acoustic guitar, and Daniel Glass on percussion.

Their songs highlighted an easy melodicism tinged with existential grayness, often stumbling into instrumental “bridges” with no beginning or end—dissonant, free-form, improvised. Variety was their strength: in God Wear Glasses and I'm A Bum (the liveliest tracks) one could hear the Clash in a musichall version; Joan borrows its riff from the spirited soul-rock of the 1960s; yet the same grooves also yield the psychedelic folk-pop of Kevin Keegan, the medieval hop of Rose Vitta, and the “highway” ballad of Radio Is King, painting a scenario far from cheerful or aggressive.
In fact, the development of these little songs has a disarming effect, as they empty themselves of conventional progression. The result is epigrammatic music, delivering its message through a refrain and sparse accompaniment; an atmospheric, hypnotic melodicism at the crossroads of Cure, Costello, and the Smiths (Love Is All Around You, I Hate Weekends) that rarely (The Night I Fell) soars into tragic cries. Always graceful and effortless, even in the most daring harmonic excursions, Dambuilders’ rock exists in a timeless niche.

After the single Pop Song (Puppethead, 1991) and another album of that style, Geek Lust (Cuacha, 1993), with Fur, and the more sophisticated Islington Porn Tapes (Cuacha, 1993), Derby and Masunaga moved to Boston and recruited the prodigious Kevin March on drums and Joan Wasser on violin. By emphasizing pop inflections, the Dambuilders finally managed to capture public attention, releasing a string of singles—including Smell (Pop Narcotic, 1992), New Jersey (Rockville, 1992), and Shrine (Spin Art, 1992)—and an EP, Tough Guy Problem (SpinArt, 1992), featuring the three gems Louisiana, Dose, and Heather, among their best material. Without abandoning subtly dissonant arrangements, while playfully echoing Squeeze, Derby and company fueled a renewal of rock songwriting.

The Dambuilders coined a folk-rock both humble and bold, provocative yet understated.

The instrumental Copsucker opening Encendedor (EastWest, 1994), with guitar violence worthy of Sonic Youth, testifies to a transitional moment, caught between experimentation and classicism. The album still pivots around melodic gems like Delaware, but heartfelt and “dirty” ballads like Smell and Slo-Mo Kikaida have the force of Soul Asylum, and many tracks sound convoluted and angular. Masunaga dominates the arrangements with his near-heavy-metal guitar, but it is mainly keyboardist, violinist, and singer Joan Wasser who enlivens the harmonies with her insistent counterpoints. Their mix of pop, hard rock, and ballads has only one flaw: it is too intelligent. The album includes much material from previous records.

Continuing the progression begun with that album, the Dambuilders reinvented their sound and mission on Ruby Red (EastWest, 1995). Smooth Control, the vehement opening track, Special Ed, and Cosmonaut, with their scorching riffs, chorused refrains, and power-pop cadences, retain little of the experimental ambitions that had ennobled earlier albums. Passionate ballads like Teenage Loser Anthem and Down bring them closer to Soul Asylum, while a few tracks (Bending Machine) flirt dangerously with AOR. The feverish rhythm of Velocidad and some surreal violin arrangements are the last remnants of experimentation.

Two years after that work, which freed them from the anonymity in which they had long been unfairly confined, Dave Derby (vocals), Eric Masunaga (guitar), Joan Wasser (keyboards, violin), and Kevin March (drums) returned with Against The Stars (EastWest, 1997), an even more professional album. Unfortunately, this primarily means the sound is deafening, heavily anchored in guitar riffs and rhythmic progressions (I challenge anyone to notice the violin in the mix, which was once their trademark). The music of Digitize is rock, not folk, full of syncopation, hammering, and rapid-fire attacks. The pop melody of You Might Want Me Around (worthy of the Replacements’ repertoire) and the power ballad I Was Wrong represent the last links to the past. Drawing inspiration from Blondie’s old disco-punk and the tribal funk of Talking Heads, the Dambuilders paint a Discopolis that could have opened new horizons for their career. It is no surprise, therefore, that New Wave steals its riff from Rapture and that Luster is built around Wasser’s sensual vocals. It sounds like a completely different band.

Dave Derby formed Brilliantine and released Vainglory (Hepcat, 1997) and My Life And The Beautiful Game (Deep Reverb, 1999).

Kevin March joined Guided By Voices in 2002.

Relocating to New York, the Dambuilders' violinist Joan Wasser formed Joan As Policewoman that released the elegant Real Life (CLR, 2007) and the mediocre To Survive (2008).