Dogwood -- Building a Better Me

8/10

Dogwood's Building a Better Me is the prototypical turn of the century Tooth & Nail punk record. I don't know what the label puts out today, but back then, if someone wanted a decent punk record, they could just visit a Tooth and Nail booth at their record store and grab almost anything at random. Building a Better a Better Me would be quite a lucky pick, though.
You'd get in your car, put on the CD, and immediately be greeted by awesomely gritty, yet melodic vocals, urgent guitars, and a crashing rhythm section. By the second track, you'd hear that this band can also do speed punk, but that they're not afraid to throw in a pensive moment or two, as well. By the third track, as the acoustic guitar intro gives way to roaring distortion, you'll be saying out loud, "I'm glad I bought this album."

And once you hear Dogwood include a sound clip from 'Army of Darkness' in this song, you'll be happy to know that a band can be awesome, serious, and have a sense of humor, all at the same time.
And then suddenly it's twelve years later, and bands just don't make music like this anymore. But at least we'll always have "The Good Times."


2000 Tooth & Nail Records
1. The Good Times 2:14
2. There's Room for Everyone 3:04
3. Building a Better Me 3:09
4. Comes Crashing 3:51
5. Autobiographies 2:26
6. Mycro 2:39
7. Come Back Down 1:47
8. The Battle of Them Vs. Them 3:21
9. Cheat Me 2:40
10. Someone See 2:59
11. The Bad Times (Reprise) 0:54
12. Overexposed 2:44
13. The Bad Times 2:27
14. Truth About It Is 2:20
15. Great Literature 0:31
16. Nothing New 3:24