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Confrontation

 When Get Dead put out Dancing with the Curse a few years ago I'm relatively certain that I must have listened to it at least once, but then I moved onto something else. I don't know exactly why, but it fell to the back of my mind and not into my record collection. Well last fall when I pre-ordered The Copyrights new LP (and first on Fat) Alone in a Dome, I added a few other albums to make the shipping cost a little more palatable, of the albums that I ordered were Dead to Me's African Elephants. Cut to this past January when they were getting ready to ship my order Fat realized that they didn't have any more copies of African Elephants and asked if I wanted to substitute it with something. Because Dead to Me's sound is somewhat eclectic I figured that I'd substitute it with another punk band with a non-conventional sound, enter Dancing with the Curse into my life (I also really enjoy their previous album Honesty Lives Elsewhere [which is a very different sound than the new album, it was still pretty firmly based in their folk punk roots]). It's been spinning on a relatively heavy rotation since I got it about a month ago. The folk punk is still lurking around in the background, but this album wouldn't be out of place next to my ska-punk section. It's almost the sonic vibe of the Flatliners' first 2 albums mashed together (Destroy to Create with The Great Awake). Sam King's vocals are gravely/phlegmmy melodic, with at times almost a Richard Butler (Psychadelic Furs) esque cadence (I think it's cadence anyway, there's something just really Furs to his delivery now and then). Like I eluded to, a lot of ska rhythms that are interspersed with skate punk, and a sprinkle of folk or almost Romani and a dash of HxC punk, just a dash. Substantial lyrics both in volume and content. This album's amazing and I'm happy I didn't sleep on it for any longer.

Flamin' Hot Cool Ranch sounds like it could have been the name of a song that was the produce of the mid 90's big band revival. I get it that it's combining 2 Frito Lay's flavours together, doesn't change the fact that the bag and chip flavour seem like they're either from the Cherry Poppin' Daddies back catalogue or may have appeared in a Lit video on somebodies shirt, shoes or both. In general I find Cool Ranch Doritos to be okay, not my go to flavour though, and Flamin' Hot is usually also decent but not something that I crave. When a buddy posted a pic of these chips in a group chat I was mildly intrigued and about a week later my wife brought some home, along with a few new Lay's flavours (like those very bleh cucumber chips). These smell like corn chips. The flavour actually tastes like a very good mix of Cool Ranch and Flamin' Hot, neither flavour takes over..it sort of meanders back and fourth between the 2, even through the aftertaste (which I did not expect as I've always viewed Cool Ranch as a sort of limp flavour. The heat is mid to mid high, maybe a 7/10, hotter than jalap but not feat of strength. All in all, not my new go to for Doritos, but a decent hot chip with a little bit of ranch chip seasoning in the mix.

Stay hydrated,

Marc

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