REVIEW // Diarrhea Planet — i’m rich beyond your wildest dreams

I saw the future the night two guitarists battled atop a stage scaffolding. *****/5

It’s March, and the streets of Austin are sweating. I settle on a SXSW showcase at a now defunct Cheer Up Charlie’s. I’d heard a group called Diarrhea Planet would be in attendance.

You know what, the rest of that story is here. Consider it the set-up.

The six-piece Nashville rock outfit is notorious for their live shows. As the group’s set came to a close, guitarists Evan Bird and Emmett Miller scaled a precarious stage scaffolding for one last shred-off to their undeniably catchy tune “Ghost with a Boner.” The riffs rained down like a Texas hail storm.

I was hooked. But really, who wouldn’t be?

Diarrhea Planet’s sound could pass unassumingly on a looping basement party playlist. At the same time, it could be the soundtrack for the four horsemen’s gallant parade. Right now, its an omen for evolution of the current low-fi wave sweeping the streets.

The latest release, i’m rich beyond your wildest dreams, solidifies the group as a viable next big thing. Go ahead, hang the card on ’em. It’s a safer bet than those Cowboys taking home any hardware this year.

Much of the album’s pacing borrows a similar, pragmatic approach to former touring partners, and previous Kevin McMahon-produced artist, Titus Andronicus.

“Lite Dream” opens with a momentous build-up and closes with a harrowing solo, one that drowns listeners in a wave of sound. Jordan Smith’s unabashed lyrics sit playfully atop a well-glossed fuzz output.

“Heavy Metal!
Rotting Out My Brain
Try To Score Some Quick Change
Skimming Over Waves…

First single, “Separations,” is a heartbroken outburst recounting the daunting process of being apart from the one you love — and its all too likely end. It’s powerfully hip and somehow bursting with calculated pop tact.

Album standout “Kids” is a look at the inevitable, and often unwanted, growth into adulthood. The song is a crushing realization that age tames us all in the end.

“Cuz I’m a Sinner
I’ve Got No Self Control
I’m Just a Dog
So Ugly and So Old…

Many of the album’s tracks were admittedly written or influenced from the time Smith and drummer Casey Weissbuch spent living together, spawning such restless revelations as “The Sound of a Ceiling Fan” and “Skeleton Head.”

One thing is for sure, i’m rich beyond your wildest dreams has enough riffs to melt even the thickest-skinned faces. And if that’s not worth the listen, then consider your ears useless.

*****/5

A version of this article originally appeared in the San Antonio Current.