While you were busy doom scrolling, Lowell, Massachusetts rapper / DJ / MC / radio show host / actor / mack / all-around cool dude D-Tension taught himself how to play a guitar and made a rock record – Tales from the Pub. It’s an album entirely played and sung by him and made up of songs based on his life both as a teenager and as a grown man dealing with everything from existential ennui to calling out a possible murderer.
“No Name Song” is instantly relatable to everyone, as it’s about not being able to remember someone’s name within thirty seconds of meeting them. D’s guitar work is loud, sizzling, and echoes his frustration as he tries to remember the name of a hot girl. “Charlie” is the song about the aforementioned suspected murderer – a rich guy who seems above the law while women associated with him have been found in a local river. D, for one, isn’t standing for it any longer (“And when you see Charlie, tell him that I’m on my way. And when you see Charlie, tell him that I know where he lives.”).
D has mentioned in interviews how fellow east-coasters The Smithereens were an inspiration for some of the tracks on the album, and I can hear some of Pat DiNizio‘s vocal influence on “Alone.” “MAGAHAT” is a fun punk track about D discovering a girl he likes is a Trump supporter. Getting back to The Smithereens, Jim Babjak‘s guitar influence comes out on “Other Side of the Road” and in one of D’s best solos on the record.
“Ghost Me” covers one of D’s favorite songwriting subjects – girls who did him wrong. In this track, he professes that he still cares for a gal who ditched him and is willing to meet her again even after she’s been gone for ten years. His guitar work gets psychedelic on “Woodrose,” much to my delight. Crank that reverb!
“Tell me, how we gonna get that magic back?” D asks on “I Love You Anyway,” in which he ponders how to reignite the spark in his relationship but is willing to stick it out through the tough times. “(They Were) In Love” brings in some doo-wop for good measure for a funny song about how weird love is in modern times…yet it’s really as weird as it’s always been.
The White Stripes are another influence D-Tension has mentioned for Tales from the Pub, and that can be heard on “I Give In” with its jangly guitar riffs and simple, raw drum beats. The closer, “The Airport Song,” is one D wrote when we was fifteen-years-old. It’s a fun track about how the airport is a great place to meet girls from all over the world and all different sizes, shapes, races, and religions. It’s easy to picture a teenaged D-Tension standing wide-eyed in Boston airport as gorgeous women keep passing him.
It’s a fun look into D-Tension’s brain, and you can tell he had fun making this record. I’m sure he has more tales to tell, and I can’t wait to hear them.
Keep your mind open.
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[Thanks to D-Tension.]