Diarrhea Planet is a, er, shitty name, but the feeling you get from listening to the Nashville sextet’s raucous six-string worship is the opposite of what you’d expect from the band’s nauseating moniker. Their scorching third album finds them older and wiser but still full of the joy that’s made audiences fall in love with them despite their name.
Their motto could be “more guitar” – they have four of them – and Turn To Gold is all about that. Their blitzed-out, Dinosaur Jr.-meets- skate-punk has matured, though: the songs are bigger and the production better than ever as they tackle some serious issues. Hot Topic rails against Nashville’s gentrification via savage guitar chugging and drummer Ian Bush’s unhinged screams lamenting the destruction of DIY punk venue Glenn Danzig’s House. Announcement is a brawny summer rocker that uses guitarmonies to fight against societal expectations. Ruby Red simmers with angst about growing up but isn’t as throat-grabbing.
When the fun’s turned to 11, Turn To Gold shines brightest. In Bob Dylan’s Grandma, they giddily outline the thrills of playing music, shouting out Nashville venues Exit/In and The End along the way. Ain’t A Sin To Win explodes from an engine-revving lead-up into breakneck pseudo heavy metal, detailing a lethal motorcycle crash and asking, “Sweet Baby Jesus, do you want to race?” Infectious power pop tune Life Pass has a solo that’d make J Mascis tear up. Headband collects all these sounds, along with some major existential anxiety, for one behemoth eight-minute guitar storm. It’s a glorious finale.
Diarrhea Planet have always aimed for the rafters, but on Turn To Gold they crash through them.
Top track: Life Pass
