4 out of 5

Label: Comedy Minus One (digital, self-released physical)

Produced by: ?

I was going to compare this to several pop-rock / power-pop joints, underlined by a clear Silkworm influence – this 2014 near-masterpiece has been picked up for physical release by Comedy Minus One, after all – but, screw it, let’s go all in and define it by SKWM: These Esta4stes’ rocking, gutsy, literate and emotive ten track The Dignity of Man plucks out Firewater’s loose, raw, jangle, underlines it with Blueblood’s bassy heft, and then gives it a catchy shake of Lifestyle pop. Yeah, somehow vocalist John Cameron swings between both Tim Midgett’s and Andy Cohen’s yearning and malaise; somehow the production and instrument crispness syncs quite exactly with Albini’s work with Silkworm; the lyrics skew towards the modern internalized version of touring / workmanship malaise, replacing historical references with more poetic flourish but cover, tonally, similar relationship obsessions and observational cynicism; and yet… despite all of these similarities, the These Estates boys are wholly their own crew, and incredibly welcome to the circle of rootsy rockers out there.

If I was going to identify the secret sauce of the band, it’s probably contained within their self-described start as power-pop: Silkworm has never been exactly that, while certainly nailing catchy riffs across their career. And by keeping a foothold in that very 90s just-left-of-mainstream sound, and combining it with the street cred of local band rawk, The Estates are able to play both sides of the street: super memorable, accessible hooks; a raw and aggressive overall sound. And a linking sincerity that prevents it from ever feeling twee or forced.

It’s really only by comparison that the album falls down slightly, because the Silkworm crew perhaps wield their instruments with a bit more flash: when The Estates allow the runtime to go to four or five minutes, you can sense them getting to their limit. Solos are (comparatively) simplistic; musically they’re just not able to eek out the same peaks as some of the wizardry on those aforementioned SKWM albums. Would I notice without all the similarities? Hard to say, of course, but maybe the criticism would be different but the overall issue the same: every track is great, but the ones that stick to a tight 3 minutes are gold.

It seems like the band might’ve had its time and gone away, with no releases listed on bandcamp since 2015. Hopefully they’re still truckin’ around in some form, but I never cease to be amazed how much music there’s still out there for me to discover, even when, on the surface, it might be easy enough to summarize a band as a poppy Silkworm. They are that, but These Estates’ The Dignity of Man is also the absolute best version of it.