Dot Dash

Washington, D.C.-based power trio Dot Dash pairs melodic songcraft with a punk-rooted commitment to craft, delivering short, direct tracks driven by sharp vocal harmonies and jagged, distorted riffs. The group gradually moved beyond the brisk, punk-driven approach of its earliest recordings, adding synthesizer textures and echoes of the Kinks’ psychedelic leanings on the 2022 release Madman in the Rain.

Following the 2008 breakup of their power-pop outfit Julie Ocean, guitarist and vocalist Terry Banks joined forces with bassist Hunter Bennett to assemble Dot Dash from a pool of seasoned local musicians. They recruited drummer Danny Ingram, whose résumé spans teenage hardcore act Youth Brigade and guitar-texture specialists Swervedriver, along with guitarist Bill Crandall, previously of mod-pop band Modest Proposal; rehearsals and occasional area shows began in summer 2010. Taking its name from a Wire composition, the band steered away from that group’s angular, art-punk edges toward the chiming, mod-tinged style familiar from Banks’ earlier projects Glo-Worm and the Saturday People. Regular D.C. performances followed, including support slots for Urge Overkill, the Trash Can Sinatras, and Chameleons Vox.

Summer 2011 brought the band’s debut full-length, the 14-track Spark>Flame>Ember>Ash, captured across three afternoons. Two further albums arrived in quick succession—Winter Garden Light in 2012 and Half-Remembered Dream in 2013—each tilting the sound closer to refined indie pop. After Crandall’s departure, former Government Issue and one-time Minor Threat member Steve Hansgen stepped in on guitar. The revised lineup headed to North Carolina to record fourth album Earthquakes & Tidal Waves with ex-R.E.M. producer Mitch Easter. Searchlights, issued in mid-2016 and produced by Missy Thangs (known for her work with Ex Hex), stripped back some polish in favor of a heavier, near-metallic attack. Working once more as a trio without Hansgen, the band crafted 2018’s Proto Retro, a set of taut, jangly numbers that still left room for layered lead-guitar overdubs.

Five years later came seventh album Madman in the Rain, released in November 2022. Dot Dash retained its signature fusion of punk drive and pop immediacy while folding in synthesizer and organ colors and steering the songwriting toward more angular variations on melodic pop.