Dude York – Falling

Seattle trio Dude York are very much children of their hometown's great musical heritage. Thirty years on and the legacy of the Pacific Northwest of the States on rock and punk music still lives on today, without countless bands claiming influence over the "grunge" movement that dominated the early 90s charts. The importance of this era cannot be overstated, however, there is always the potential problem of oversaturation that comes with any explosive movement within art and culture.

Unfortunately, Dude York enter this less than complimentary category with their latest album, Falling. While the band showed some promise on 2017's Sincerely, they've fallen flat on its follow-up, with little intrigue at all. Especially at a time where there's a glut of excellent female-fronted alt-rock bands (Snail Mail, Charly Bliss, Doe to name a few), a straight-up ode to the 90s pop-punk and grunge bands that you grew up on without offering any big hooks or invention does not suffice.

In fairness, bassist Claire England has taken over more of the main vocal duties from their previous record, where she fronted arguably that album's best two songs. This is a good move, as the few worthwhile moments of Falling are all hers, such as on opener Longest Time or the title track. However, former frontman Peter Richards' (guitar) songs feel entirely disjointed from England's and even worse, offer little to complement the other half of the record, given the two's dual duties gelled much better in the past. Lyrically and production-wise, Falling, bar a couple of moments, fails to catch the imagination in a crowded field.

Listen to: Longest Time, Falling, Unexpected