Dennis Lyxzen must be fed up with being Sweden's Zach de la Rocha. Lyxzen, once the singer/lyricist in seminal punk/hardcore/mall metal outfit Refused...

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Dennis Lyxzen must be fed up with being Sweden's Zach de la Rocha. Lyxzen, once the singer/lyricist in seminal punk/hardcore/mall metal outfit Refused and currently occupying the same role in pretentious mod-rock profferers The (International) Noise Conspiracy, seems ready to cut ties with everything that has characterized his career so far -- the suburban jock fanbase, the self-consciously aggressive music, the naked contradiction inherent in espousing commie politics from the aisles of Hot Topic -- with this latest incarnation of his confessional Lost Patrol project. The Lost Patrol used to be Lxyzen and whoever he could call up to lay down a drum track, but it has now morphed into The Lost Patrol Band, a six-piece unit dedicated to power-pop, soda shops and apolitical good times. You won't hear Costello's clever wordplay or Chilton's inventive arrangements, but this self-titled affair whizzes through conventional boy-girl dilemmas and bubblegummy melodies with non-asshole winks and nods and a shot of nitro.
Interestingly, Lxyzen's most inspired songs still betray his roots. "Golden Times" rides a chugging mod rock riff and could pass for a T(I)NC single with a little more swagger, while "Pick Me Up" might have been a punk barnburner, had a more hyperactive drummer been involved. These minor variations aren't regressions, though -- cheery keyboard lines keep them squarely within the confines of radio pop. By keeping one eye fixed on his rowdier work, Lxyzen establishes himself as an able appropriator.

It's nice to see Lyxzen making pop music for pop music's sake; without the burden of a message or the lofty goal of shattering preconceived notions, this playful side project is the most honest set of songs he's ever recorded.

www.splendidezine.com

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Saving the world from the evils of capitalism can get pretty darn lonely, especially when your girl walks out on you. Just ask Dennis Lyxzen. The sometimes...

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Saving the world from the evils of capitalism can get pretty darn lonely, especially when your girl walks out on you. Just ask Dennis Lyxzen. The sometimes socialist agitator drops his fellows in The (International) Noise Conspiracy for another installment of his ongoing broken-heart pop.

This time around, Lyxzen taps a band and develops his songs further than the simple acousta-Dashboard songs that defined his solo project’s first two albums. Darn near anyone who doesn’t have pictures of Chris Carrabba tacked up in their locker will thank Lyxzen for taking the time to record proper songs. However, The Lost Patrol Band still pales in comparison to Lyxzen's previous efforts, the (I)NC and Refused.

Lyxzen plugs into the same general vibe that’s guided the Conspiracy for years – swingin’ ’60s garage-ish tunes. Without the political ax to grind, The Lost Patrol Band opts for a more pop take on the period. Where The Small Faces and The Kinks serve as the Noise Conspiracy’s general blueprint, The Lost Patrol Band takes a more fun-loving spin, messing with sounds that let everything from the tones of Paul Revere and the Raiders to modern Midwestern post-emo pop drive the bus. It’s not going to change the world – or, if the album’s sniffling songs are any guess, bring back Lyxzen’s departed baby doll – but they’re a fair to middling shot at jangly guitar and wheezing-organ power pop.

Serving as the natural foil to The (International) Noise Conspiracy’s hard-driving rock’n’roll, The Lost Patrol Band brims with doses of lighthearted pop. “Get Ready” taps into lime-green and tangerine ’60s pop that sounds like a less fashion-conscious (and less enthusiastic) version of Dressy Bessy; the clap-and-stomp rhythms of “A Girl Like You” sound as if learned from a million Merseybeat bands; and the act’s droning Hammond alludes to the era’s teen-safe psychedelic pop aces. “Pick Me Up” and “My Heart is Still a Mess” seemingly retread the same G-rated psychedelia for a bit of bite.

For a dude who’s better known for an all-out ideological attack on capitalism, Lyxzen sure sounds like a pantywaist on The Lost Patrol Band. Part of that’s from the act’s bubbly West Coast mod pop, for sure – it’s hard to sound like a badass when you’re playing music that could be pumping at an amusement park. It’s even harder to be a badass when you pine away over a lost girlfriend in virtually every track (just like your last album did, no less) as if you’re a 1onely 19-year-old boy whining about your first broken heart.

Lyxzen’s finally on track with The Lost Patrol Band’s rock’n’roll dynamic, but he still has worlds to go – and some serious time on a psychologist’s couch working on abandonment issues – before the Patrol can challenge the Conspiracy for rock’n’roll dominance.

www.aversion.com

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