Dikembe – Mediumship

In my hierarchy of preference, few bands gain the privilege of being compared with what I consider the apex of the post-punk movement: Brand New.  With a legacy that positions them as the gold standard of moody emotional atmosphere, many newcomers attempt some form of emulation, but it takes a particular combination of temperamental guitar work and morose vocal presence to come close.  Those currently in the running include Reverse The Curse, The Hunters, and Citizen.  But in light of a certain sophomore full length, Mediumship, it would seem that newcomer Dikembe is well on their way to landing on that exclusive shortlist. 

The Gainsville, Florida four-piece plays an honest brand of post-punk that pipes up in ire as much as it retreats into that dark cavern of berated consciousness.  Vocalist Steven Gray channels the withered whisper of a tortured soul in the vein of Jesse Lacey (Brand New) to the point where he could very well serve as a stand in on Deja Entendu.  The level of shaky confidence in his scratchy moan coat songs like “Hood Rat Messiah” in a sullen pace as if burdened by the weight of the world.  Distorted chords cautiously chime and linger beneath a cushion of pedal work, drifting cautiously through irregular chord choices as melancholy conversations emerge as choral outbursts of angst.  A couple tracks later, “Las Vegas Weather” masterfully sums up how Dikembe can effortlessly shift from a somber reflective stance to a jarring state of anguish.  Gray sings to poetic effect, “Before I laid in bed with the devil, I came to God with a plea… Let’s put our two heads together and make a man out of me.”  Gray’s effortless lyrical ebb and flow organically washes its waves of truth over listeners, immersing them in Mediumship’s haunting sub-melodies.

After a little digging and research, Mediumship plays in stark contrast to the quartet’s prior output.  Their debut full length, Broad Shoulders, plays with the stamp of many Count Your Lucky Stars alumni, including high guitar tones and invasive math-rock inspiration more characteristic of the ongoing emo revival than their tantalizing current reimagining of post-punk.  Tracks like “24 Karats” incorporate some of Dikembe’s former allegiance, but this time paired with a haunting album-long sonic resonance of the latter.  Look no further than “Donuts In A Six Speed” or “Gets Harder” for the sudden jolt from lax to brash and back again.  If there’s one point for improvement moving forward, perhaps elevating those at times uniform highs to more varied heights would accent each hill and valley with an even stronger mark of distinction.

In their current chapter, Dikembe captures the vulnerability of the human condition, and thus it’s hard to imagine anyone not deeply connecting with Mediumship.  Dikembe’s current evolution has them standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the best post-punk released in the past ten years.  Mediumship is an album deserving of praise in the present that plants a strong seed for the future.