Dirty On Purpose
hallelujah sirens
by Tom O'Connell

Taking a long, disgusted look at the overhyped scenesters infiltrating every corner of Williamsburg, Dirty on Purpose made a conscious effort not to be trendy. Their name is, in fact, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the stylistic sense of the unwashed, pseudo-hip fashion mongers eagerly waiting to be spoon fed the hot new band of the week. Any group can try to win an audience by pasting their fliers all over town or performing in three-piece suits and Flock of Seagulls haircuts. But DoP have tried instead to buck this trend by slowly and organically growing their fanbase. In the process, they have recorded a luminous debut full-length, Hallelujah Sirens, and have found themselves in the middle of a budding art collective.

Their sound blends many styles, from alternative and punk to mellow folk and dreamy space rock. Influences seem drawn from all over the rock landscape, like they packed a suitcase in the dark and dressed themselves in the results. One can definitely hear remnants of idols like Pavement or The Pixies, though for a 21st century alternative rock band, that has become about as universal as ripping off the Rolling Stones. Lighter songs reflect the Belle and Sebastian vibe, while more amorphous rock suggests bands like Sonic Youth or Yo la Tengo. Sprawling rock anthems give a nod to contemporaries like Death Cab for Cutie and stellastarr*. A distinct balance is struck between tenderness and depression, between angst and catharsis. When another breakup song makes you think you’ve got Dirty on Purpose pegged as an emo band, they will tear through a blistering grunge riff to exorcise all their demons. After a four minute, buzzing instrumental rock out, they will reverse directions into a slow trot acoustic ballad that softens their edges. This clever style of bare knuckled shoegaze makes Dirty on Purpose a continual challenge to categorize.

After self-releasing their first EP, Sleep Late for a Better Tomorrow, to a quiet wave of positive press, Dirty on Purpose began preparing their first full-length album. For DJ Boudreau (bass), Joe Jurewicz (guitar/vocals), Doug Marvin (drums/vocals), and George Wilson (guitar/vocals), the past year was a turbulent one. Amid occasional shows in New York and a few mini-tours across America, the band signed to New York City startup label North Street Records, who re-released their EP in June 2005. Shortly thereafter, original fifth band member Erica Forster (keyboards/vocals) decided to dedicate her efforts full time to her other band, Au Revoir Simone, and made an amicable split with Dirty on Purpose. After a brief search for a replacement, they decided to remain a four piece. After so much time together, the band had developed a tightness that afforded them the ability to read and anticipate each other, to think and play as one band instead of as four disjointed voices. To devote the time to initiating a full time replacement might have derailed their rapidly accelerating progress. When in need of female vocals, they now enlist the help of friend and fellow up and coming Brooklyn musician Jaymay, who sings backup on Hallelujah Sirens.

Sleep Late was recorded one track, one instrument at a time, giving it layers and texture. The result was a production value that sounded clean and polished. To see Dirty on Purpose live is a completely different experience, gritty and visceral. Curious new fans of the somewhat gentler EP found energy in the live show that was difficult to duplicate with a multi-tracked recording process. The band decided to record Hallelujah Sirens live, using as few takes as possible. Additional tracks were added for backing vocals, guitar overdubs, the occasional string or horn section, but the meat of the album was laid down together as a group. This technique made it much more difficult to fix all the bum notes, guitar buzz, and other quirks that usually get ironed out in post-production. All the better for it, the result is a raw sounding album, full of instrumental collisions and happy accidents that could not have occurred by any other means.

Death by Audio, name to both the Dirty on Purpose practice space/studio and the customized effects pedal company run by friend Ollie Ackerman, has become a miniature Mecca for several local bands. Groups like Pela, A Place to Bury Strangers, Say Hi to Your Mom, Coin Under Tongue, as well as Jaymay and Au Revoir Simone, all consider the place a second home. Incestuous musical relations abound as members of different bands practice and jam together, contribute to each others’ projects, and team up to form new bands like pick up basketball games.

Dirty on Purpose build songs, yes, but first they build moments. Nearly every track on Hallelujah Sirens has some kind of clarifying moment where all the pieces snap into place and the song elevates to a place beyond. Some of them lasting only a few second, these moments are what come to define the album.

Hallelujah Sirens is like a soundtrack to carry the sensitive, the meek, the love-struck through various phases of a relationship. There are giddy beginnings, uneasy middles, pained goodbyes, and new beginnings. When this album takes off, introverted high school nerds will make Hallelujah Sirens their bible.

The album kicks off with “No Radio,” a buzzing confection that piles on layer after layer of instrumentation and distended melody. There is so much going on in the background that it’s hard to pay attention to the simple story about a car trip, friendship, and relationships.

“Your Summer Dress” bops along with a kickin’ drum beat, the guitars lurch and bend dangerously close to off key, things swirl and tumble before settling into the rolling main melody. Lyrics drop in optimistic with a touch of aged wisdom. “If everything you ever wished came true in a day / Are you prepared to handle that when the sun comes out to stay?” Joe Jurewicz’s melodic falsetto disarms and engages without becoming overly sweet. At the 2:35 mark, the song picks up like a car suddenly thrust into overdrive. The wall of sound grows thicker and thicker until finally collapsing into a daze. Songs were invented to have moments like these; it is arguably the best thirty seconds on the album.

“Lake Effect” is a quiet folk tune reminiscent of some of the better Smashing Pumpkins ballads. Drummer Doug Marvin takes lead vocals over acoustic guitar, piano, and strings. The lyrics reflect an attempt at exodus from a vague but painful trauma that they blame on the heavy snowfalls caused by lake effect. “Bruises and scars up and down our arms / Coughs that don’t quit / Better to go far away / Better to back up your threats than stay / Better to go while the goin’s OK.” Running from the weather and running from their demons end up being one in the same.

“Light Pollution,” the album’s first single, stacks a heavy distort guitar on swift march drums, building tension like a bottle rocket screeching toward the sky. When after thirty seconds it finally pops, the song’s colorful fragments slowly descend back toward earth. Shifting tones with a flick of a wrist, the boys can start out a song like “Light Pollution” with a hard rock riff that spirals and crescendos, only to settle back into a melody of mellow summer breeze. In this sense they share a common bond with Yo la Tengo, no stranger to the rolling, ambient tune themselves, but just as eager to remind listeners that they could rock it out at will.

There is a healthy dose of smile pop in their style, but Dirty on Purpose make it very clear that they can rip shit up, and choose to do so at key times throughout Hallelujah Sirens. “Monument,” a four minute instrumental freak fest, will easily put to rest any rumors that their music lacks grit. When things get a bit too sunny and they want to flex their rawk muscles, DoP like to take guitarist George Wilson off his leash. He is already a solid performer within the constraint of their regular song structures, but unmuzzled he can become downright animalistic. Perhaps the band’s secret weapon (the secrecy of which is surely fleeting), he can turn Dirty on Purpose from a wet-nosed puppy into a distortion-fueled rabid dog. The acid trip moments on songs like “Your Summer Dress” and “Monument” find Wilson pedal-heavy, hurling his guitar toward his amp, baiting the feedback to come out and play.

Some of the songs are catchy from the start, while others take several spins and an open heart to let them seep in. After floating downstream on a dreamy untitled instrumental interlude, “Always Looking” begins its goose bump inducing melody and finds its place as the album’s centerpiece sleeper. The melody is creepy in such a pretty way, it is tough to tell whether to embrace it or hold it at arm’s length. It is like having a crush on someone who you know full well will only fuck with your head and leave you tortured.

No gimmicks, no hairdos, no shtick. Just four non-descript average Joes who have blended their talents and passion for music into an entity much greater than the sum of their parts. Four songwriters, three singers, a handful of guest musicians, and a burgeoning artistic community comprised of a growing network of like-minded artists and musicians. DIY as it was meant to be.