'Desperately Seeking Someplace Quiet' by Disq
Disq, the Madison indie rock quintet whose national debut album dropped as COVID-19 lock down measures were imposed in 2020, sound raucously exhilarated on their Saddle Creek sophomore set, Desperately Seeking Someplace Quiet. It may be the kind of long exhalation that comes from too much time alone and pent up with thought, as well as the usual sorting out of emotions and relationships concomitant to young adulthood in an increasingly mechanized and infantilized society.
Perhaps this explains Disq's sonic progressions: more feedback squalls, more screams and an introduction of what sounds like shredding. Those chaotic elements contrast with subtle interpolations of collegiate dance rock and at least one instance of a spoken vocal sample ala' Norman Cook. The effect, coupled with a meditative passage or two and a few melodies that approach the anthemic, comes off as a patchwork of influences from some MTV “120 Minutes” and College Music Journal CD sampler of ‘90s guitar band favorites. Yet Disq radiate personality not overly beholden to anyone else whose music they've absorbed. Having multiple, male-female lead singers helps to that end, as does songwriting that spans a breadth from heart-on-sleeve earnestness to a goofy tribute to an infernal cinematic dog. The irony of Desperately Seeking Someplace Quiet as a title only serves to highlight Disq's broadening sonic versatility.
