Dads are a New Jersey duo fueled by enough self-deprecation to sustain the entire Garden State: their Twitter handle is "@wearentdads" and their bio reads "Only Emo Band I Like," less a boast than an acknowledgment of the genre being verboten or a guilty pleasure to many indie listeners. They charged a grand total of fifty cents for their 2012 debut American Radass (This Is Important), which featured adenoidal, prickly cuts such as "If Your Song Has The Word 'Beach' In It, I'm Not Listening To It," the title of which more than justified the price tag. And now, here's the follow-up EP Pretty Good, which asks "Can I Be Yr Deadbeat Boyfriend?"
With all that in mind, you can safely assume that "Boat Rich" is a phrase they coined to describe a particularly absurd fantasy aspiration (the next track is titled "No, We're Not Actually"). But there's an irrepressible spirit and ambition that runs through "Boat Rich," making you realize the jokes might be a cover for Dads actually aspiring for at least a better tour van, if not a catamaran. The production here is significantly richer, the instrumentation loud and clear, and there's a ramshackle urgency reminiscent of early Japandroids. There's an instability to Scott Scharinger's arpeggios and John Bradley's drum rolls that underscore the road-weary confessions in the lyrics. On "Boat Rich," there's happiness in the past, hope for the future but little to do about it in the present other than realizing "home doesn't have an address" and doing the best to enjoy what's currently in front of you.
