The Great Regression

Description

DITZ are reissuing their debut album, “The Great Regression,” on eco-vinyl after the first 1,500 copies sold out in a matter of weeks. Eco-Mix vinyl production uses vinyl scraps already present in the factory, meaning each record is different and the color is completely random. This method is more environmentally friendly, as it uses materials that would otherwise have been discarded. Records can range from beautiful blues to vibrant reds, brilliant greens, and everything in between. Each copy is unique. The 10-track album was a long time in the making – the band first got together in Brighton in late 2015 and released their first EP the following year. There have been some line-up changes along the way, but they've settled since their flagship tracks 'Gayboy', 'Total 90', and a cover of Peaches' 'Fuck The Pain Away' in 2019, which prompted IDLES' Joe Talbot to proclaim, "DITZ are the best band in Brighton, if not the world." Although the various lockdowns slowed the band's momentum for a while, they turned the situation to their advantage, using this downtime to polish this incredible debut album. Abrasive yet accessible, “The Great Regression” was widely lauded as one of the most important British guitar albums of 2022. Resident named it #4 album of the year, Pitchfork gave it a 7.3 rating, Steve Lamacq, John Kennedy, Jack Saunders, Joe Talbot, and Tom Robinson all happily spun it, and Spiegel, Gigwise, Loud & Quiet, Upset, Flood, Under The Radar, Brooklyn Vegan, Pop Matters, Louder Than War, and many more fell in love with it. Themes of insecurity and other similar topics often recur throughout the album, as well as many references to the human body breaking down and getting injured in strange ways, although there is no overarching concept, simply because the songs were composed over such a long period. The title is not so much a reference to society regressing, but rather to the band's penchant for childish jokes. "Sitting in a van all day can make you silly," Cal muses. That doesn't mean “The Great Regression” is a light-hearted work. It is full of anger, rage, and despair. "Three" reworks a text from Stanisław Lem's 1961 sci-fi novel Solaris and applies it to the superficial activism of everyone from large corporations to middle-class university students. Other literary references include Sylvia Plath, William Burroughs, and Hubert Selby Jr., but another even more significant influence is the band's ever-growing pile of gear. "We spent a lot of time during the recording process trying to produce unusual sounds from pedals or whatever we could find," Cal explains. The album concludes with a new, cacophonous version of "No Thanks, I'm Full," which originally closed their first EP in 2016. "Over the years, the live version has evolved so much that we had to re-record it to do it justice," Cal explains. "The lyrics are so old that I no longer know if they are about the dangers of drinking or not drinking." It's a testament to how far DITZ have come in that time and a reminder that to progress, you have to regress. And we'll drink to that. Or not.