Dogwood -- Seismic

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7/10

Dogwood's final album, Seismic, is more punk rocking fun, but doesn't quite have the energy of the band's previous efforts. This might be because of member changes. This might be because the writing was on the wall with the life of the band. This might even be because the writing was on the wall with the life of the genre. Don't get me wrong, punk rock will never die, but by the spring of 2003, you'd have been hard pressed to find another punk band on Dogwood's label, Tooth & Nail. When Dogwood signed to Tooth & Nail, they were part of a healthy punk rock stable.
Nevertheless, despite the end having come, we get one more Dogwood release. Seismic isn't their best, but it's nowhere close to bad. It's still full of punk rock anthems, and it also contains perhaps Dogwood's best song, "Conscience in a Cave."
Listen here:

"Conscience in a Cave" is one of the most huge-sounding, psychologically complex songs Dogwood recorded. It is so good, it qualifies as one of those songs that, when you listen to it, makes you feel that you are better than everyone in the world who is not also listening to it at that exact moment. It is songs like this that made Dogwood a valuable commodity, one now sorely missed in the nearly punk-free musical landscape of 2012. Then again, that's why it's called a recording. You can spite the dumbstep, metalcore-infused fortress of modern music by listening to Dogwood's oeuvre anytime you want. I'm doing it right now.

2003 Tooth & Nail Records
1. Seismic 3:11
2. Selfish Americans 2:07
3. Conscience in a Cave 3:15
4. Sunsets Are but Once a Day 2:08
5. Absolution 2:20
6. Home Is Here 3:19
7. Your Tongue Is the Deadliest of Arrows 3:11
8. Trailer Full of Tragedies 3:28
9. Faith 3:10
10. What Matters 2:40
11. Last of the Lost 3:35
12. Crushing 0:46