Kevin and the Bikes – Dorkcore 101
Kevin and the Bikes are comedy-rock band from United States. Their 2019 LP Dorkcore 101 is a fascinating 4-hour concept album based around the show Ed, Edd & Eddy, which incorporates elements of experimental rock, noise rock, harsh noise and stoner rock.
It’s a pleasure listening to goofballs not taking themselves seriously while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of the medium in a clever manner. Much of the songwriting is quite creative, as is the sound design. N-E-E-D-L-L-L-L-L-E-L-L-E-L-E-S-S-L-E-S is really chaotic, abrasive and the right amount of rough. Kevin Podcasts 1-5 are incredibly funny and add tonnes of personality to the album. Walk the plank is very Tom Waittsian, and Kevin is an enjoyable a zappa-esque 60’s era throwback. Retro video game aesthetics give so much life to MY COOKIES, and the other food-related song Chunky Puffs is a fun, cheesy throwback. Mr. Yum Yum FUCKING DIES is one of the best songs, incredibly cathartic with an excellent use of noise. Many of the remaining songs are creatively spliced together - even the instrumental filler (like The Indestructible fruitcake) are disjointed and fun. I Think Rolf is a Muslim Extremist contains some of the most eccentric percussion amongst cheesy synths and deliriously charming lyrics (“I heard you didn’t want to land, either”). Other standouts include the Bikini Babes Magazine variations, which are stupid yet engaging; especially the frantic and delightful free jazz version featuring one solid Scatman impression.
Other notable tracks standout for different reasons. Gen Z humour gives life to tracks such as Jonny 2x4 Fixes Kevin's Laptop, and 88 Fingers Edward works exceptionally well for an undeveloped track, as does the perfectly lengthened Kevin Has Diarrhea. Some songs are cover songs, such as Burdy Dorky and Pumped Up Eds – both nonsensical, humorous tracks. Even the titles throughout Dorkcore 101 themselves are humerous: (Interlude (For)) Dork (In Nighttime) (While Asleep (P.S.) (I'm Gay)), What’s Under Double D’s Hat (Hint, It’s Weed), Why is There a Shit Ton of Double D Rule 34 and The Eds Haven’t Been Trying to Buy Actual Jawbreakers This Whole Time, They’ve Been Trying to Buy Records From the 1990s Emo Band “Jawbreaker” But They’re Too Dumb to Realize That A CD Doesn’t Cost 25 FUCKING CENTS all stand out.
The final quarter of the album is noticeably of higher quality, as the Bandcamp description states: “Fun fact: the album becomes listenable at track 83.” Rather an understatement, as everything preceding is solid, though it’s incredibly satisfying to see how the band developed over four years (assuming the tracks are in order of creation.) The noticeable bump in quality and production towards the end of the album would allude one to believing so. There is a trade-off however, as the songs are far more streamlined and less experimental; one could even say it’s missing the jarring chaos of the first 3 hours. Despite being of higher quality, they are in retrospect, very bland. The exceptions are the demented Chrome-like I Dream of Kevin, the free-form progressions of I Fucking Hate My Friends, They Don't Understand My Love for the Eds, and the plain-but-charming 90’s alternative-rock outro Kevin Moves Out of Peach Creek. Everything else drags out the album unnecessarily so. Had it not been for the boring last quarter of the album, Dorkcore 101 would have come at a higher recommendation.
There’s surprisingly very little filler for the first three quarters, though. Not only is Dorkcore 101 really good, it is consistently really good. There’s a few songs that are duds, though: I Admire the Bike So Much is inexcusably bad. Fuck Jimmy is mixed abhorrently (which is a shame, because the noise goes hard). What if There Were No Dorks is quite sloppy, unenjoyably so. Don't Tread On Me (Instead, On Those Three) is plain. 4:33 is an unfortunate carbon copy of the John Cage classic, note by note. An absolute shame, since the dorky twist to the other songs were quite charming. Regardless, even at its worst, Dorkcore 101 is an engaging listen.
The album often feels like a manifestation of the artist’s progression over the years, and it comes with one huge recommendation. Sure, it’s uneven, though its charm makes up for its lesser qualities. The album is the Trout Mask Replica of the internet era, perhaps if it were executed by Ween. Here’s hoping Kevin and the Bikes will either build upon, or expand, their creative outlook in future.
Really Good
Listen to it here:
Kevin and the Bikes – Dorkcore 101
