WHO ARE THEY? Lifelong Can-punk godfather (and current Burnaby city councillor) Joey Shithead Keithley, backed by the latest in an endless succession of rhythm sections.
WHAT IS THIS? Their 18th studio album in 40 years, and the followup to 2018’s Fight Back.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE? Pretty much exactly like the other 17 D.O.A. albums. To wit: Another slate of short, sharp mosh-pit anthems about politics and punk — usually propelled by double-speed polka beats, laced with grinding guitars and topped by Joe’s gravel-throated bark.
WHAT ARE THE MOST REVEALING LYRICS? “I’m gonna set you straight, you son of a bitch!”
WHAT SHOULD IT BE TITLED? Nothing Better Change.
HOW SHOULD I LISTEN TO IT? On a crappy old boombox, while wearing a sleeveless denim jacket covered in band patches and drinking the cheapest beer you can find.
WHAT 10 WORDS SUM IT UP? Aggressive, adrenalized, vitriolic, rugged, defiant, determined, pointed, scrappy, fiery, unrepentant.
WHAT ARE THE BEST SONGS? The Fucked Up Ronnie remake Fucked Up Donald (Why not Donnie? Your guess is good as mine); the self-mythologizing It Was D.O.A.; the cover of Neil Young and Crazy Horse’s Hey, Hey, My, My; the smokin’ Gonna Set You Straight.
WHAT WILL MY FRIENDS SAY? ‘You can always count on death, taxes and Joey Shithead.’
HOW OFTEN WILL I LISTEN TO IT? Repeatedly — partly because the eight-song disc sprints by in barely 18 minutes, practically forcing you to put it on a loop.
IF THIS ALBUM WERE A VEHICLE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? An Econoline van that has 800,000 miles on it but still miraculously runs.
SHOULD I BUY, STREAM OR STEAL IT? You can’t give D.O.A. an IOU.
