Album Title: “It Is What It Is”
Release Date: May 25, 2010
Record Label: Say-10 Records
Gary – Guitar
Chris – Guitar
Dan – Bass
Carlin – Drums
Are they punks? Are they furious road warriors? Are they hardened would-be gangsters who simply got caught up listening to the wrong kind of music at an early age? Yes, yes, and probably. Earning their bloodstripes through aggressive hustling in their formative years, by their early twenties they found themselves lost to the road. Adrift, they floated between bands as little more than mercenaries. Eventually finding themselves embittered and weary of the professional punk circuit, Dirty Tactics retooled and reconveined, freshly blood bound to follow the beat of their own drum. Their ethic is both unquestionable and uncompromising – one that few would dare to emulate. The driving tempos and contagious vocal melodies are harnessed by masterful songcraft, a clever comandeering of the skills they learned during their time in high-profile bands. In swaths of brutal honesty they hold true to their tastes, bejewelling their album with subtle layers of keys and back-ups, unafraid to embrace the more pop-oriented facets of their collective backgrounds while holding fiercely true to the genre. In both art and form they now flex their once-bound brawn, delivering a commanding album that is as exhubrant and liberating as it is well-crafted and conceived. As an added bonus, no matter where you’re reading this from, they’re probably making plans to come visit sometime soon.
“Philadelphia has a pretty decent record for churning out punk bands. From the Dead Milkmen through to the Loved Ones, there’s something about the mix of cheese steaks and a strong working class mentality that inspires no frills punk music. If their brilliant, soon-to-be released full length It Is What It Is is any indication, Dirty Tactics very well may be the next Philly band to prove to the rest of the world that you don’t have to live in Southern California or Boston to create stellar punk music.”
- John Moore, Philadelphia Examiner
