Dianogah

So my old boss, Kip, plays in this band called Dianogah. I went to see them in the summer of ’06 in Chicago, mainly because he told me Andrew Bird would be playing a couple songs with them. This collaboration has born fruit, namely on Bird’s “Daytrotter Sessions” and a few tracks off Dianogah’s new long-player, “qhnnnl.” Bird’s involvement with the band is worthwhile, to say the least, but not really why I’m talking about them. Instead, the reason is the last song they played at that show. All three members of the band sang (or more appropriately, yelled) out raucaus lyrics over a punk drum beat and a noodley bass line. It was a throwback to the great Chicago indie/punk of the early-to-mid 90’s, reminiscent of Braid, Planes Mistaken For Stars, Small Brown Bike, etc. I went home to look up the song, and to my dismay, found nothing about it. I never remembered to ask Kip about the song, and figured it was something they had buried in the vaults, or something they whipped up at practice, never to see the light of day again.

The aforementioned LP “qhnnnl” was released in August of this year, and I was quick to snatch a copy. When listening to it while cooking dinner a few weeks ago, what do I find buried on Side 2, amidst the instrumental low-end post-rock that Dianogah has fully mastered? Why, it’s this very song! And what’s more, my ex-co-worker, stomach slapping compatriot, and Traitors goof-off Billy Smith played guitar on the track! All this time and it was right under my nose.

-Cole

Dianogah - You Might Go Off.mp3