Dan Sindel – THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING

Dan Sindel – THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING – EP Review

Yeah…I mean…looking at it…I just don’t think I’m ever gonna be the guy to think the title of a record or songs should be in ALL-CAPS unless your name is too.  Otherwise…and I’m just being objective here…it ends up looking kind of small when you have it all side-by-side.  THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING by Dan Sindel – you see what I mean?  It’s like Dan is the opening act and his EP is headlining.

Anyhow.  You regular readers know it’s always the strangest things that tend to catch my attention.  Don’t get it twisted – Dan’s a good guy – I’ve enjoyed talking with him behind the scenes loosely over this past month or so, and if you haven’t noticed yet, you’ll find he has been DOUBLE-FEATURED (Yeah!  Now that’s justified capitalization y’all!) on our pages today – check out his interview with us by clicking here.  For real though…good dude, great to talk to, and if you read that interview you’ll find he’s also very grounded in terms of how he views the music scene & how people tend to absorb what they listen to.  He’s realistic about it all…if it makes sense to you, turn it UP!  If it doesn’t, you’re free to move on.  I love that.  The internet is a big ol’ place with plenty for you in it, and life’s too short to be sitting there doin’ something you don’t wanna do.  Plenty of room on Dan’s bandwagon for one more if you wanna sit down, and plenty of understanding from the man himself if you’re not quite ready to find a seat yet.

Fun beginning!  THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING starts with the lead single released in advance of the record, called “AMBITION.”  It’s expressly Rock & Roll, and from what you can tell in the lyricism, Dan proudly owns that.  “AMBITION” is very pro all-things-Rock when it comes right down to it, from references to magazines like Hit Parade, to mentions of rockin’ in just about every way you can think of, to the textures of the sound itself – Sindel was clearly born to Rock, and it’s fair to say that that is what you can expect of him throughout the six songs on his new EP.  Tough genre to stand out within or do things a whole lot differently than those that would have come before ya, but music doesn’t have to always be about that.  Dan’s got a flair for Rock, so why not lean into it, right?  We all play to our strengths in some way…and I’d be the first to tell ya, the sound suits him.  I’m pretty long documented on these pages of ours as to not being the world’s biggest fan of what’s arguably one of music’s most famously straightforward genres – but I’m into anything where the people making it are genuinely into it – and you can certainly hear that Dan is definitely that.  Ain’t too much outta place here if anything at all – “AMBITION” lines up from its core concept to the execution – Dan set out to make this song with real focus on the vision he had for what it would sound like, and the dude put the work in – what else can we ask for?  A direct affront to all that would dare to exclaim Rock & Roll is dead – Sindel basically exists to prove the complete opposite is the real truth, and let’s be real here, the dude sounds real good doin’ it.

Now I know what you’re thinking…but Jer @ SBS, what oh what goes good with pure Rock & Roll?  Well, AMERICA of course!  Even a smug Canadian like me knows that.  And so here we are, at “AMERICA! AMERICA!” – track two on THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING – get your pom poms ready.  I’ll say this…while those of us outside of the country might very well be quite tired of the subject at this point in time…I’m probably more interested in “AMERICA! AMERICA!” than I was with “AMBITION.”  Neither are necessarily bad tunes by any stretch of the definition, but “AMERICA! AMERICA!” is a little less predictable at times, and my ears appreciate that.  Where “AMBITION” largely sticks to the Rock & Roll script about as faithfully as one could possibly imagine, “AMERICA! AMERICA!” possesses a few more twists and turns & a little more diversity.  Like, listen to how the song begins for example – the otherworldly sound that it starts with is noticeably different…almost like the effect is similar to how bands used to play around with the Talk Box to add additional versatility to vocals & whatnot.  I like that Dan’s thinking outside of the box in that respect, even if I’m less sure that the particular sound in question would necessarily enhance the accessibility of it all.  Ultimately, I think “AMERICA! AMERICA!” arguably displays some progressive tendencies with the amount of different directions it chooses to go in, though it’s inarguable that the sound itself is anything other than pure Rock & Roll.  Dan not only sounds like it, he likes to write about it…and so yes, you’ll find many references to that within this second song as well.  Maybe we should just call it like it is – those out there that really love their Rock & Roll and choose that as the style of music they really wanna play…those people have a massively strong desire to ENTERTAIN – that’s really what drives them.  Do I think “AMERICA! AMERICA!” achieves the objective in that respect?  Sure!  Sounds like Dan’s having a great ol’ time and in a celebratory mood for all-things-Rock & all-things-AMERICA…and I don’t think it’ll be tough to convince others to join in on the fun he’s having.  He’s put a lot of work into making this track flow as seamlessly as it does through as many unique parts and ideas this song has at its core, and I think he deserves some real credit for that.

Now we’re getting a little closer to where I’m at…I think you could argue that “BLINDSIDED” has a real Alternative edge to it, especially when you consider how the vocals sound so much like Alice In Chains at times, and the meaty depths of the low-end also do a lot to support my point as well.  So you got – of the three tracks opening up THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING, “BLINDSIDED” is definitely the track I became most invested in.  Love Dan’s guitar work on the way into this track, but if anything, I think the rest of why I like this is even more obvious than that…he’s shifted away from the themes of Rock & Roll, there’s no America involved here directly, no references to religion or God…I mean, it’s just an easier song for a heathen like myself that grew up Grunge to enjoy, simple as that really.  Regardless of what I or anybody else thinks of this tune or that tune throughout Sindel’s EP, I still believe that Dan has done all the right things in terms of the quality in his performances and the production of his record – it sounds great & he’s put in the kind of effort that will get people’s attention for all the right reasons.  Personally speaking, I don’t know why we wouldn’t all agree that “BLINDSIDED” is the main highlight to be found in the first half of this EP – there are some genuinely mind-blowing moments in this song that should be appreciated by every set of ears tuning into it.  I dig the low-end crunchy rhythm and stomp this song possesses, but even with that all being as really damn good as it is, I think that there’s almost no argument to be made against Dan’s vocals being the most extraordinary element of this song overall.  Beyond that, “BLINDSIDED” feels fresh and feels different than so much of what is out there, probably with the exception of the one comparison I made…but yeah…you get the point – this stands out, and at the very least, there’s not a whole lot like it out there in the scene right now.  It’s a highly ambitious cut that’ll earn your attention right away, and in my opinion, Sindel does a tremendous job in retaining it.

For those of you out there that do skew more towards Alt-Rock than Rock & Roll in its purest forms, have a listen to something like “BURNING BRIDGES” and try to tell me that you can’t hear how this could have easily been a track on a Porno For Pyros album!  It absolutely has a ton in common, and obviously, I’m here for that…I love the textures and choices Dan’s made for how he wants his vocals to sound in this song, and I dig the way the music moves with such consistency in its constant supply of variety.  I wouldn’t say I’m the kind of person with a short attention span and feel like just about every review I’ve ever written confirms that’s true – but I do like a whole lot of different sounds and as much variety as I can get when it comes to what I listen to on any given day.  So when I come across songs like “BURNING BRIDGES” that are happy to supply the versatility I’m looking for on the inside of a single track, rather than have to be switching albums and such all day long…heck yeah…that’s a victory for me and my ears.  I feel like Dan’s done himself a real solid in that regard too.  While he would have easily scratched the itch for Rock & Roll that the purists would have been craving, he has wisely switched things up to satisfy some of the rest of us that reside further towards the fringe of the genre in the EP’s midsection.  It’s quite commendable how many twists and turns Sindel is able to put into these tunes without having to resort to labeling them as Progressive Rock, but that’s the case really…he’s able to keep a level of sonic accessibility that you wouldn’t find within that genre, and that’ll be to the delight of most listeners out there.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking Prog, I love plenty of it – but the masses have always resisted multifaceted ideas, and it’s a really fine line to walk.  Dan proves he’s more than capable of making music that can still sound cohesive while exploring the space in multiple directions.  He kind of reminds me a lot of what you’ll find happening in the music of Daiistar right now on “BURNING BRIDGES” – that’s another great example of a band that celebrates Rock & Roll but knows how to give it an extra dimension or two so that they have an opportunity to reel in a few fans from outside the genre.

One of the most relentlessly interesting things about music is simply how we all hear it, and especially the difference between the way an artist hears what they created, versus those of us consuming it.  Like, for example, “AMBITION” and “FREEDOM” were chosen as the advance singles from THEY ONLY LOVE YOU WHEN YOU’RE WINNING, and I probably wouldn’t have selected either of’em for that role.  Maybe “AMBITION” – that’s a pretty good example of a track that’s not necessarily for me, but could definitely appeal to a whole lot of folks checking out what Dan creates – but “FREEDOM” is kind of a strange choice by comparison to some of the rest.  I’m not saying that it’s devoid of hooks so much as I’d be tellin’ ya it doesn’t have a lot of the kind that we would typically associate with songs that get put out there to entice people into listening, or what we generally consider to be single-worthy sound.  It’s an interesting tune, don’t get me wrong…but those are more often regarded as the ‘deep cuts’ than what tends to be put out there as a gateway in.  In any event, I felt like there’s a lot of meat on the bone when it came to “FREEDOM” for the most part…I do think this is the kind of song that will continue to grow on people as they continue to listen to the EP, and that matters…you need those kind of tunes in a lineup.  The pace and the musicianship are impressive here…”FREEDOM” is a pretty fierce track when it comes right down to it, and if you’re like me & don’t always want to feel like you’re listening to a carefully curated song designed to be some kind of hit, then I think you’ll find “FREEDOM” to be quite satisfying.  Great solo in this track too, just before it heads into its second minute…arguably deeper lyricism to be found here as well…yeah…I dunno…”FREEDOM” is again, not what I’d expect in a single, but as far as songs go, I think there’s an argument to be made that this cut is amongst the record’s most compelling.

“SPELLCASTER” finishes off the set, with Dan opting for some experimentation with the sound of his vocals once again.  It’s funny…he actually has a look similar to Al Harlow of Prism (the Canadian band my old man plays in), and Al loves to use the Talk Box and modify his voice when playing live too.  I suppose we have to chalk it all up to mere coincidence, but it’s interesting to say the least.  Where am I at with “SPELLCASTER” as a song overall though?  Ummm…hmmm…it has its moments?  How about that?  I don’t know if I could make a claim that it’s going to be the hit for everyone out there, but I do support the fact that “SPELLCASTER” does do things differently than the rest of the tracks in the set for the most part.  How do any of us know what we can or can’t do without being willing to color outside of the lines every so often…to voyage into the unknown & the random in an effort to see what else is there, right?  And with experimentation, quite often, comes some ups and downs.  On the bright side of things, Dan is sounding adventurous like freakin’ Thomas Dolby or Prism with the use of fringe elements and effects threaded into “SPELLCASTER” – and on the flipside of that coin, that same use of versatility is likely going to cost him a little in the accessibility department this time around.  So you get this like…split personality type of tune that seems to want to be something you’d find in a Judas Priest track, but happily borrows from a range of other influences that broaden the range of sound.  As to whether or not that’s going to be to its detriment in reaching the people out there listening, or an advantage by containing such a more noticeable crossover sound…it’s hard to say…time will tell the whole story for Dan on this one.  What I can tell you, is that HE sounds like he’s enjoying himself, and that genuinely matters when it comes to the art of making music.  “SPELLCASTER” is kind of like one of those songs that’s endlessly at odds with itself…borrowing from the past, yet still forward thinking…a little Rock, but also a whole lot of like, everything else…straightforward at times, yet so creative that it’s going to throw some people off – and so…I mean…it ain’t a bad place to test the waters in a lineup, even if “SPELLCASTER” plays more like a hidden track would, rather than a logical conclusion to a record.  I enjoy things that aren’t typical though, and I don’t think anyone could listen to “SPELLCASTER” and feel like it’s anything close to that.  It’s been fun to listen to this variety of Rock & Roll that Dan has prepared for ya on his latest EP, and if you’re into the whole range of Rock and its potential for a wide array of sound, I’m confident you’ll find something to dig on somewhere within these six tunes for sure.

Find out more about Dan Sindel from his official website at:  http://www.dansindel.com

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