Dick Diver
Melbourne, Florida
TROUBLE IN MIND
7/10
For a few years now, Australian foursome Dick Diver (named after a F. Scott Fitzgerald character) has been making a fair amount of well-organized indie-rock noise with a couple of records that showcased the band’s unique brand of slipshod, jangling effervescence. This third album—the first to get a regular Stateside release—takes bigger leaps towards sophistication (i.e. there are saxophone bits), and is likely to pull the group out of the shambling pop realm. Songs like “Year in Pictures” play around with saccharine twee melodies of the ’90s, but flip that script with more roughly hewn sides. “Beat Me Up (Talk to a Counselor)” scales things back with only the basics of drums, keys, and a jangly guitar, but still makes an impact. And “Tearing the Posters Down” is cut from the perfect power-pop cloth. These songs are obviously labored-over, but they don’t sound labored. Instead, Melbourne, Florida sounds crafted, sweet, cool, and unpretentious—a solid love letter simply to satisfying rock.
