Durham, North Carolina’s Personality Cult return with their third album (second for Dirtnap) and it’s a monster! Personality Cult started as a solo project by Ben Carr, making their debut in 2018 with a self-titled LP on the legendary Drunken Sailor Records. Gradually morphing from a solo act to the full band they are today, they were in the middle of recording their second album, when they were brought to the attention of Dirtnap through a tip-off from mutual friend Jeff Burke. Recognizing songwriting genius when they hear it, Dirtnap wasted no time in snapping the band up, and the resultant LP, New Arrows, was released to much acclaim in February 2020 (Right in time for you-know-what….)
Fast forward three years. Recorded in NYC at The Daisy Chain studios, Dilated was painstakingly produced by Ian Rose and Jeff Burke (Marked Men, Radioactivity). Burke engineered and mixed Personality Cult’s last record, but on this one he really stepped to the forefront and took over as producer, overseeing every detail of the project from its very beginning stages all the way to the end.
Of the recording process, Ben Carr says: “I really fell in love with working in the studio on this record. The freedom of time in a space where we had unlimited flexibility to work has changed the way I do things and what’s important to me while recording”
Cementing their status as a “full” band, Personality Cult has recently enlisted the considerable talents of Colin Swanson-White (Formaldehyde Junkies, Voight Kampff, and DE()T), transforming them into an even more formidable live band than before.
Dilated is thoughtful and layered, adding depth and texture to their already-considerable songwriting chops. With that said, it still rocks like crazy, masterfully building on the fast, propulsive, super-catchy-but-never-remotely-saccharine drive of past efforts. Mark our words: Dilated will go down as a modern-punk classic!
