Album: Dig
Year: 1993
Genre: Alternative
In 1991, Nirvana made it ok for MTV and radio to stray away from the dying breed of 80s swill which was bursting at the seams with bland, feel-good pop songs, horrible metal ballads and has-been, rock and roll choking on its last gasp. This instantly brings up another question; was there ever a worse era of popular music than the late 1980s / early 90s? I personally don’t think there was. Anyways, the result of this angsty musical influence was the proactive effort of large, and already wealthy, record companies wanting to scoop up every band they could to try to exploit the next potential commercial success with this “new” alternative rock stuff. These companies spent a shit ton of money pushing these bands through whatever media outlet they could influence. By the time the bands were developing, the era was over, the record moguls made their money, and the bands were left for dead. Dig was one of these victims. Would Dig have been signed in any other era? It’s honestly hard to tell. Their style is so time and genre specific that it really makes me wonder; if that early 90s “grunge” explosion hadn’t happened, would Dig have been noticed at all? The answer to this hypothetical should be “yes” because, although a bit dated, they were a strong band. Dig’s self-titled album from 1993 is a perfect representation of 90s, guitar driven alternative modern rock. It follows the Pixies/Nirvana/Smashing Pumpkins quiet-loud-quiet blueprint of songwriting, highlighted with very addictive melodies. The album is a pop record with big guitars with the slightest added touch of depression and anxiety that was ever so popular back then. The vocals are the highlight of the band and the album. Vocalist Scott Hackwith has a super cool voice and delivery. Let’s face it, many times the vocals were the highlight of any good 90s alternative band because the instrumentation was more of a backdrop. Dig’s five minutes of fame came with the song “Believe” which jettisoned them into the MTV spotlight, but, as with so many before them, that spotlight didn’t translate into longevity. If you happen to come across this CD, it’s worth the, more than likely, very cheap price you will pay for it.
Listen to "Believe" here.
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