Rob's Album of The Week: Dispatch's Circles Around The Sun

Finally, the wait is over. After a reunion tour, numerous side projects, a few benefit shows and 12 long years Dispatch is back with their fifth studio album, Circles Around The Sun, and the multi-instrumental trio hasn't missed a beat. Dispatch's trademark mix of rock riffs, reggae beats and jamming rhythms constitutes the new record, every track has a distinctful groovy tone to it and it's simply pristine. In this current boom of music of all styles gaining fanbases far and wide, it was only a matter of time until one of the biggest bands in New England music history started putting out beautiful music once again.

If you've been living in a cave since the mid-90s, Dispatch is made up of Brad "Bradiggan" Coriggan, "Chetro" Chadwick Stokes Urmston and Pete Francis Heimbold. The three amazing musicians met in 1996 while attending Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont and music as we know it hasn't been the same since. Starting out touring all over New England and then extensively around the world after the dawn of the new millenium, the band went on hiatus due to internal tensions between Coriggan, Urmston and Heimbold after a performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (currently with the much more talented Craig Ferguson) in 2002. A couple years later in 2004, the band played a "farewell" show titled "The Last Dispatch" at the famous Hatch Shell in Boston and it became the largest concert in independent music history. A crowd of 166,000 made up of people from all over the world attended the magnificent night, sending the band out on top. Last year, Dispatch reunited, did a summer tour of the United States and haven't looked back.

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 - Rob Duguay

It's always difficult picking my favorite tracks from a fantastic piece of music, but with Dispatch it's like trying to pick my favorite brick of gold from Fort Knox. Anyways here it goes: "Circles Around The Sun" showcases the classic rhythms that only Dispatch can prouduce, making you jump like a pogo stick in a joyus state right when you hear the first strum. "Not Messin'" is a down and dirty badass song with Urmston's unique voice exclaiming how he doesn't have time for the nonsense. "Get Ready Boy" has Dispatch taking a folk direction in their sound, seems like a song you can hear while your in somebody's apartment sitting indian style while an unplugged band is jamming away.  "Josaphine" is a ditty that every New England boy can relate to, falling in love with a fair-skinned girl at a harbor and missing her when she's nowhere to be found. "Never Or Now" is a great anthem for anyone who seizes the moment and never lets go, mind-blowing riffs that will keep you rejoicing and your head banging like there's no tomorrow. You could just read this review and go on your merry way, but you know better than that. Grab a copy of the new album, listen and enjoy a breath of fresh air.

Dispatch will be embarking on a North American tour next month starting at The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on September 20th and they'll be ending the expedition on October 12th at The Fox Theatre in Atlanta. New England live music fanatics can check out Dispatch when they play The Agganis Arena on the campus of Boston University on October 6th, a show that no Bostonian with a soul should miss. For fans in The Big Apple, Dispatch will be gracing one of the most legendary stages in the world the night before on October 5th at The Radio City Music Hall. Across the pond in Europe, fans will have to wait till January of next year to see Dispatch electrify their senses so stay tuned to see when they'll be hitting up your favorite music hall. Until Dispatch graces your hometown with their magnificent tunes and good vibes, get yourself a copy of Circles Around The Sun. It's perfect in every way, no matter what the other critics say.