Limblifter was a fantastic Canadian piece of indie-rock folklore in the mid-90’s. The band practically shit out hooks. Though I was a little too young to appreciate them then, I can now consider Ryan Dahle’s debut solo LP, Irrational Anthems a blessing from above. Dahle, being one of the founding members of Limblifter hasn’t lost a step. And what’s more, Dahle’s sound has matured. Relying less on hooks and more on precise songwriting, Irrational Anthems is the sound of a genius growing up and finding new ways to expose his celebratory sound.
“Target Practice” features strings mellowing out Dahle’s high-pitched pipes and an infectious riff that doesn’t so much creep into the subconscious as it does present itself at the front door with a smile and a drink. Irrational Anthems rarely beats listeners over the head with its hooks, probably because it doesn’t have to. There is a enough communicable composure on these tracks to let them speak for themselves.
Dahle is by no means an old man, but what works so wonderfully on Irrational Anthems is how poignantly the tracks speak for themselves. On `HYA` Dahle uses finger snaps to highlight the track`s potent chorus, probably because he figured that`s exactly what listeners will also be doing. In this sense, Irrational Anthems is as marveously transparent as it should be.
By Joshua Kloke
[Rating: 4.5/5]
