Dilly Dally
Sore
PARTISAN
7/10
The debut album from Toronto’s Dilly Dally is called Sore, which is, without a doubt, how singer Katie Monks’ throat must feel pretty much all the time. Her count-off at the top of opener “Desire” is a battle cry for a war she wages against her own vocal chords throughout the record. And it’s a war worth fighting, because her guttural, cathartic wail and intuitive phrasing is what elevate the band from decency to excellence. Sore plays to these strengths—the arrangements on tracks like “Purple Rage,“ “Witch Man,” and “Ice Cream” put Monks’ voice on full display against a backdrop of melodic grunge in the style of Last Splash and Nevermind. The piano ballad closer “Burned By The Cold” seems an odd choice given the effortless cohesion of the album’s previous ten tracks, but regardless, Sore introduces a singular talent in Monks, one that demands to be witnessed in person. That is, if her voice can survive touring.
