“I am the Jesus Christ of Sin and Vice” – Blag Dhalia

Can anyone honestly say that they expected The Dwarves to last twenty-five years? The Dwarves' latest release Born Again is the band’s first new studio disc since 2004’s The Dwarves Must Die and the band has come a long way from their speedball punk, violence-inducing (fifteen minute) sets from twenty years ago.

Continuing in the style that the band started around the time of Come Clean (2000), Born Again contains a number of melodic, surf-rock and power punk tunes about sex, sin and debauchery. The band keeps with their ‘less is more’ approach and blast through 18 tracks in just over 30 minutes. While The Dwarves have moved away from 34 second dirges like “Fuckhead” (1990), this disc isn’t all bouncy anthems like “Salt Lake City” (from The Dwarves Must Die). Most of the tracks are under the two minute mark and the band pulls out the punk and hardcore stops on tracks like “You’ll Never Take Us Alive”, “Stop Me’ and “We Only Came to Get High”. Born Again features a number of special guests, who include Vadge Moore and Sgt. Salt Peter from the band’s Blood, Guts and Pussy era, who may have played a role in adding an edge to the music. The band obviously had fun making this disc and the final track, “The Band That Wouldn’t Die”, features a voice-over cameo from Space Ghost Gary Owens.

The Dwarves - "Drugstore" (from Blood, Guts and Pussy)


The Dwarves - "The Band That Wouldn't Die" (from Born Again)


With the band’s musicianship and musical hooks improving with each release, The Dwarves are moving into the space occupied by The Meatmen in the mid-80’s (who had Minor Threat’s Lyle Preslar and Brian Baker on guitar) and the band also shares Tesco Vee’s refreshingly wicked sense of humor In an era where too many bands wear their emotions on their (metalcore) sleeves, one can hope that there is some justice in the world and The Dwarves reach the sort of payday that many of these mall-core/Hot Topic bands have achieved.

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The Dwarves