Album Review: Dentist Avoids The Sophomore Slump With Ceilings

Ceilings is a fun album. It is moody and bright, all at once. Hence, it is incredibly “playable” or as guitarist Justin Bornemann stated, in our interview, “listenable”. Dentist is a band whose music goes down smoothly like, a cool, crisp glass of milk. They are clear and easy as they enter the sound waves of your mind.

As in the interview, I mentioned that many have used illustrious words and adjectives to describe Dentist and their album Ceilings for example, my opening milk statement. It is humorous our attempt to define them because they are undefinable. They are one of the few bands out there to make music distinctly theirs, in part, because they sound like they are not from this time. At first listen, Ceilings sounds like a beach bash in the 90’s. You can envision young, grungy 20 somethings having beers and dancing around under a cabana. It is fast-paced music with undertones of musical waviness. Many listeners have noted the “surf- rock” vibrations that quietly persevere throughout their tracks. Hence, the vision their album gives, yet what I appreciate most about Dentist and this album is that there are so many influences that can be heard.

There is a definite punk-rock underbelly to Ceilings that will leave you smitten when in contrast to lead singer Emily Bornean’s relaxed voice. I love her vocals. They are cool, laid-back, and unforced. It almost appears as if she is speaking to you and music has surrounded her out of love. There is an innate welcoming to her voice, that again, is indescribable but lovely in experience. Lovely may not seem like a word to describe punk rock. Aggression, tension, and anger seem more conducive, but what makes Ceilings so exciting is that it adds a layer of approachability to the genre. It still keeps the natural angst and questions of existentialism that punk rock mires over, but thanks to Emily’s voice you feel like everyone can join in to listen. Overall, it is the moodiness of Ceilings that will stand out as a distinguishable pleasure.

From happy to sad to mad to plain contentment, Ceilings comes off like a human spirit in itself. From the bliss of love to the melancholy of confusion, its “wavy” feel can also come from the surges and crashes of emotion. You feel like you are embodying the mind of an everyday person, with Emily being the whimsically vulnerable narrator. I would definitely encourage everyone to give this band a listen and even a buy for their new album Ceilings.

Favorite Tracks-

You Say– Loved this track. It is young, fresh, and demands you to get on your feet immediately. It strikes visions of going wild and letting every vulnerability and inhibition hang off you like fruit on a tree. Its fast drumming and guitar pierces the soul, while Emily’s voice comes off like sweet echoes of thought.

Meet You There (In Delaware)– another fun, captured hook. Dentist’s quickened instrumental pacing gives their music a frenetic charisma. It feels like quiet chaos brewing, but you like it.

Airvent– the darkened, heavy interjections of guitar strumming and drumming gives the feeling of needed breathability. Like its title, Airvent, the song taps into sentiment of spiritual claustrophobia: just wanting to release and relieve your inner tensions, particularly in terms of love.