Superamerican

The Dirty Faces thrive on contradiction as well as adversity. A series of personnel changes has seemingly only made them a stronger, more creative and more dedicated band. They are fiercely loyal to Pittsburgh, yet their guitar player lives in Brooklyn. Their live shows are noisy, messy affairs, but their albums contain surprising moments of quiet lucidity. While they are equally influenced by both American and British art punk (The Fall, Pere Ubu) and 1970's classic rock (Led Zeppelin, ZZ Top), along with (of course) a healthy admiration for the primal rock of Iggy & the Stooges, AC/DC and everything hip hop, they manage to boil these influences down into something at once recognizable yet wholly their own. After solidifying their lineup a week before entering the studio in fall 2003, Superamerican was recorded between October 2003 and April 2005 by three different engineers in three US cities. Its 13 songs manage to span the wide range of stylistic and emotional reference points of the Dirty Faces, from the spastic no wave of 'Headlights' to the quiet, Beat Happening-esque introspection of 'High Holy Days' to the lighters-held-high stadium anthem 'Amplify (like a prayer).'