National Drag
National Drag.
© 2000 Chicago Pop
CD permanently out of stock. Sorry!
Power-Pop with heavy hooks, concise melodies, and tight harmonies.
tracks
- 1 She Doesn't Want To Dance With Me
- 2 When You Were Not Around
- 3 Things Aren't Going My Way Anymore
- 4 Who's To Say
- 5 They're Still Waiting For Their Chance
- 6 She's On The Way
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With a sardonic wit, an army of hooks, and harmonies galore, Chicago's National Drag has created a brand of power-pop that is being called, "Intelligent, Straightforward, and Honest." While their roots lie in 60's Brit pop, 70's new wave, and 90's pop-punk, National Drag has managed to combine the best elements of these genres and make it uniquely theirs. See why they're being hailed as, "The best local band I have seen in a long time! (Chicago Music Network 3/15/01)"
reviews
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National Drag prepare to take over pop-scene with debut album
author: Trailblazer On-lineFor those people who are nostalgic for the Beatles, yet still love the pop music of today, your prayers have been answered. And your pop-messiahs are Jimmy Drag and F. Scott National. Drag and National, teamed with drummer, Local G., has put together one of the most distinctive sounds since the Fab-Four themselves, and they call it National Drag. Their self-titled debut EP, produced by National Drag themselves, is a step in another direction for new-age pop. It features several songs that could send National Drag “national.” From their up-beat radio hit, “She doesn’t want to dance with me” to the down-played “Things aren’t going my way anymore,” it is just a matter of time before the “Dragsters” go big-time. Most of the tracks on this album are feel-good pop hits that has fans bouncing their head and singing along with the snappy lyrics, which were written by Drag and National. However, there is a serious side to Drag and cohort National, as they demonstrate in “They’re still waiting for their chance,” which portrays a couple’s hardships and decisions. Ultimately, the only thing that could hurt this record is that it ends too soon and has you pushing repeat on the stereo.
National Drag 6 Song EP
author: Chicagogigs.comThis EP mixes the best of so-called indie rock from both sides of the pond. With wry, self-depreciating lyrics and poppy musical arrangements, the band sounds like a believable cross between Weezer and Suede, with a little Elvis Costello thrown in for good measure. The band’s influences, however, lie heavily in the past. The flavor of the Kinks is detectable here, but the intelligent melodies and jangle-y tunes are distinctly Beatles. The great thing about the songs, though, is that while rooted in the British Invasion and flowering in garden of great American Indie Rock, National Drag somehow come out with a sound all their own. The standout track on this EP, Things Aren’t Going My Way Anymore, is a well-crafted pop tune about the end of a relationship. It has a melody like one of those painfully beautiful Morrissey tunes, but without the hollow vocals. Imagine The Beach Boys covering a Smiths song. Even the simplest song on the EP, a two-minute ditty called, She Doesn’t Want to Dance with Me, is a scorcher. Appropriately, most of the songs are about love and jilted love, but drummer Local G keeps the pace upbeat and happy. It’s that irony which keeps the EP interesting and warrants repeated listening. This band is truly talented, and is one promising act that is not to be missed.
Power-pop with low self esteem
author: Digital CityAnother entry into Chicago's healthy pop-rock scene, National Drag are the sad sacks of the industry, a team of schmoes who fill their lyric sheets with tales of love gone wrong at the hands of girls who won't give them the time of day. Apparently these fellows have been unlucky in the past but it seems their tight, sweetly styled power-pop might turn a few female heads, though it may leave them with little to sing about. No matter, they can always lean on their hummable tunes, classically simple melodies that ring a chance-dance-truth-youth style rhyme in our ears.
National Drag (Self Titled E.P.)
author: Localmusic.comNational Drag have been working on a jangle rock thing for a couple of years now, and comparing the work on this EP to the show I saw 8 months or so ago, they've gotten better at it. They're a decent band instrumentally, and can hit some decent harmonies. They even go for some "doo wop wops" on "When You Were Not Around." On "Who's To Say," National Drag nears a Wilco comparison with less jangle and more thoughtful Americana-style guitars and melodies. And that's the direction they should continue in. The jangle rock is becoming a musical dinosaur, whether we want to admit it or not.