The sophomore effort from Canadian hard rock band with extra ambition (thanks, ProgArchives!) Dillinger doubles down on everything from the debut: double the songs, double the…covers? There’s certainly more to enjoy with Don’t Lie To The Band, in many ways a step up for the band. The originals are more tightly arranged yet maintain a broad reach, extending beyond jazzy hard rock to encompass funk and a more modern, slick backed rock sound. There are some tradeoffs: the hard rock edge is largely abandoned for a more pop-inflected production that despite having some assistance from future mega producer Terry Brown (Rush) leaves the guitars thin and the sound of the kick drum abysmal, but the stronger songwriting wins out. Soon Dillinger would implode and turn into something called The Hunt (we’ll get to them) but for now let’s feel the weirdness one more time.

Don’t Lie To The Band inexplicably starts out with not one, but TWO cover songs. The first is a slightly sped up and shiny version of Spooky Tooth’s “Two Time Love”. It’s fine, but loses a lot of the grit and dirty funk the original had (you can hear it for yourself here)…weird for an opening track considering how much stronger the original tracks are. But seriously, the WTF when I heard their cover of The Beatles’s “Taxman” as if channeling early Parliament? I know a lot of folks don’t care for it, but it’s so odd a choice I really dig it. Jacques sings it really well, and the funk works. Who would’ve thought?

From there we get to the originals, and it’s there where Dillinger and Don’t Lie To The Band really starts to shine. “It’s Not All Mine” has some Uriah Heep going for it, though the Chicago vibes peek through. It’s a bit of a ballad, and I can’t abide the heavy reverb on everything, but like the debut everyone is playing great. Jacques’s voice is in fine form – again, I’ve heard and read that folks weren’t keen on his voice and prefer when he got a dedicated lead singer for The Hunt, but in this context it works. Cockburn’s guitar playing is great, his leads silky smooth. “Munchkin Men” is the epic of the album, nine minutes that turns the prog and fusion elements up with a galloping 6/8 ride. Silly title aside it has some serious rock going on, and a nice mix of acoustic instruments, but the highlight is the organ solo that comes at the halfway point. Fantastic drumming from Robert Harrison as well, even though I really, really hate the sound of the kick drum. It’s so processed it sounds like an electronic beat, odd when everything else has that warm feel.

“You Lied” is another far out excursion, sweet vocal harmonies and more organ taking the spotlight and emphasizing some of those Uriah Heep comparisons. Cockburn’s guitar has so much reverb and delay it sounds woozy, but he’s a strong player so I deal with it. Terry Bramhall’s bass really comes through here as well, and he’s great, has some of that classic Gary Thain vibe I loved so much on Demons & Wizards. Harrison’s flute comes back to the fore, too. So bonus prog points there.

The album wraps up with the funky organ drive of “Robot Race” which is another fun rocker – I knew Dillinger had the songs in them, and this just makes their choices for the debut that much more incomprehensible. “Coming Home” open with some heavy processed acoustic guitar and ominous organ that brings in the psychedelia without the hippy trippy atmosphere. The harmonized vocals are again a nice touch. Absolutely love Cockburn’s solo at the end.

In fact “Coming Home” would be a great closer to Don’t Lie To The Band, but since the band insisted on that title, I’ll comply and say why they decided to end with the maudlin boogie of the ridiculously named “Bumpadidilly” is a confounding mystery on par with kicking your album off with two covers no one asked for…and I like “Taxman”. Nothing really wrong with the song, just it’s sequencing on the album. It remains to be seen if Jacques Harrison and Paul Cockburn can get it right in The Hunt.

I guess we’ll find out in a few days…