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Dizzy Box Nine Last Call Before the Fall Review by Gary Hill I reviewed a previous album from this act and said that I had some problems with a monolithic sound to the disc and some songs that seemed a bit awkward. Well, this release is sort of half-full glass. On the one hand, all the songs here work well. There are no exceptions this time around. The other side of the equation, though, is that this is even more monolithic. It almost feels like there are only two or three songs here just repeated. Now, that might not be an issue because so many people listen to music one song at a time these days. And, honestly, there is not a weak tune here. This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2021 Volume 6. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2021.

Track by Track Review

Name An energetic guitar jam brings the album into being. This is a bouncy sort of pop rocker that's a lot of fun.

Show Me Everything That You Are This is another fun tune, but it sounds too much like the previous one. I dig the guitar fills on the song.

GPA This number is bouncy, fun and alternative rock based. It's again not much of a change from the last cut, but it works pretty well.

Check-In There is a bit of an old-time rock and roll thing in the mix here. A section later with multiple layers of vocals seems a little awkward. Overall, this is another pretty standard slice of pop rock.

Mississippi Run This seems a bit harder rocking. The jam band kind of movement later is a great touch, too. The vocal performance on this has some unusual charms, too. All those things elevate this track above the music around it.

1978 I dig this song quite a bit. While it's not a huge change, it's very successful. The guitar fills are tasty, and the hooks are catchy.

17 Seconds Bouncy and fun, this is a solid number, but doesn't really stand out from the pack.

Miss A shorter, mellower song, this brings some variety to the proceedings.

Fire This energetic tune is back to the familiar formula. It's a fun cut.

Everything I really like the guitar fills on this track. The song seems a bit more rocking than some of the others, lending some variety.

Coca-Cola Another pretty typical song, this has a little hard-edged reprise at the end that's very cool.

Sunset There aren't any big changes here, meaning this is another effective song that sounds a lot like the rest.

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