Photo courtesy of Dino Gala
Allston indie rock quartet Dino Gala sure did play a lot of shows in 2022. In fact, go check your basement they may be down there right now setting up. Their tense, but curiously melodic sound lends itself well to the battered PA and warm tall boys in a backpack set. Combine that with a growing rep for air tight musicianship and it comes as no surprise they’ve become a staple of our tight knit local scene. Though far from prolific, the few songs that have trickled out since forming a few years ago hinted at a lot of promise. That said, this year’s “British” single seemed to really zero in on everything they do right as a band. A compact and downright pissed off tune that points to 90’s college rock just as much as the ever-evolving emo revival, it felt like a proper introduction, a certified tone setter for a band poised for greatness. It’s also a spiritual cousin of Dino Gala’s debut EP Diagonal, which we are premiering today at Allston Pudding.
Album art courtesy of Dino Gala
Call it a refinement rather than a radical departure, Diagonal collects most of the live set Dino Gala has been banging out for the past year, maximizing their twin guitar attack and effortless hooks while exploring more robust timbres and motifs than the average house show heroes. Tracks like the early single “51 sea slugs” and “shark” are propulsive and distorted in all the right ways, but also boast sugary sweet choruses, breakneck tempo changes, and vocal harmonies crisp enough to put most songwriters on notice. With Diagonal, Dino Gala closes out their initial phase as a group with a roundup of their earliest songs. It’s a deft way to cap their busiest year yet while also clearing out space for whatever comes next. Hit the stream below to get up to speed.
Dino Gala had this to say about the new EP:
“Diagonal is a compilation of sorts of older Dino Gala material. Every song aside from the acoustic track ‘owlz’ is fairly consistent with the sound of our more recent singles, “British” and “Fun Fair.” The songs are about decaying friendships and relationships, and the barriers to communication that come with growing apart and moving away from people.”
Diagonal is out now digitally, grab a download right here.