Album cover for "Phase 1"

Even after 25 years, the Boston-based indie band, Dispatch, continues to break new ground with their music. “Phase 1,” their most recent release, is the first installment of five releases, which will make up Dispatch’s eighth studio album. The five phases of Dispatch’s new album are meant to follow the five stages of grief and transition — meaning that “Phase 1” is about denial and isolation. Dispatch identifies the problems facing current-day America, including racial justice, gender inequality, political discord, and the coronavirus pandemic, and tackles them head on. “Phase 1” pinpoints the overwhelming malaise many Americans are experiencing in these tumultuous times, hinting at a hopeful future.

While taking a political stand, Dispatch also manages to produce top-notch and original music. The brilliantly smithed lyrics roll off the tongue, without clotting the flow of energetic, feel-good rhythms and catchy choruses. The songs in “Phase 1” are consistent with Dispatch’s past work. Although each of the songs vary in tone, they all bear that trademark Dispatch sound — a blend of rock, folk, and reggae.

“May We All” is the first track on “Phase 1,” and it sets a strong tone for the album. The song is driven by a fast rock beat that is somehow also laid back, creating a sound that is reminiscent of their past songs, “Painted Yellow Lines” and “Letter to Lady J.” The lyrics of “May We All” similarly set a strong foundation for the message of “Phase 1.” Going into the chorus, Dispatch sings, “I stubbed my toe / And I wanted to blame the roots of the trees / For pushing up the concrete, but now I know / May we all be forsaken / Like the black man trying to breathe, or the woman that’s never believed / May we all be mistaken / About our current state, about our current of hate.” Here, the speaker begins with a tale of denial, blaming a tree for stubbing his toe. In the last two lines, he questions whether we’re all mistaken about our tense political climate. Placed side by side, these lyrics expose the fact that many Americans blame anything and everything for political turmoil — but rarely stop to look at themselves. Dispatch, then, asks the listener to do just that: to look introspectively and identify their own hate and denial. Like a stubbed toe, we must accept blame ourselves, and heal with time. The speaker also singles out a widespread feeling of isolation with the line, “may we all be forsaken,” and goes on to acknowledge the struggle of those affected by racial and gender inequality, — issues discussed in their previous album, “Location 13.” Full of meaning and groove, “May We All” is a near flawless start to Dispatch’s latest album.

The second song on “Phase 1,” titled “All This Time,” is a collaboration with singer/songwriter The White Buffalo. “All This Time” is slower and much more somber than “May We All,” bringing out the folk and blues side of Dispatch’s sound. “All This Time” bears a strong social message, hitting home with these concluding lines: “All this time we pledge allegiance to the tune of a thousand treasons / One nation under something, under water, under mass incarceration / In the age of feast and famine can we disrupt the social canon / Let our children lead, we all believe, let us see the forest for the trees.” The first line here calls out American hypocrisy — a kind of treason against our own core beliefs. America was built on the idea of freedom, and yet the speaker dubs it a nation “under mass incarceration.” The “age of feast and famine” that we are living in is clearly a moniker for the wealth gap. In the last line here, the speaker begs the listener to step out of his or her state of denial, to stop blindly pledging allegiance, and to “see the forest for the trees.” If the forest is America, each tree is an individual American. Dispatch pointedly asks their listeners to fight for each other’s individual freedom.

The final track on “Phase 1” is “One by One,” and it elevates the mood after “All This Time.” The song starts off with a moderate ska tempo and later settles into more laid-back summer reggae. “One by One” is a tribute to someone who meant a lot to the speaker, but is no longer in his life. With an uplifting sound and an uplifting message, “One by One” rounds out the heavier elements of “Phase 1.”

Once again, Dispatch has delivered razor-sharp lyrics and infectious tunes. “Phase 1” is a promising first installment for Dispatch’s newest album.