Diners @ Trunk Space

Social media may have gifted us LOLcats and the like, but it's also partly to blame for the crushing 24-hour news cycle and a growing collective paranoia about the intentions of our neighbors. The yearning for "simpler times" is understandable, but it's no coincidence that those simpler times always line...

By Christina Caldwell

August 16, 2012

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Social media may have gifted us LOLcats and the like, but it's also partly to blame for the crushing 24-hour news cycle and a growing collective paranoia about the intentions of our neighbors. The yearning for "simpler times" is understandable, but it's no coincidence that those simpler times always line up with when you were a kid. (If we're subjected to one more "'90s kid" Facebook post, we're going all Desert Storm on your ass.) Of course times were simpler. You were simpler. But with music, the desire for simplicity is more virtue than annoyance. Four-chord rock never really changes, and there's some innocence in that. You can speed it up or slow it down, but you never really change the fundamentals: hooks, melody, spirit. And that's okay. It might not be particularly innovative, but the music of Mesa-based rock band Diners gets the bedrock exactly right. Taking cues from beach-pop rockers like Beach Boys and Best Coast and the energetic indie punk of local friends Dogbreth, songwriter Tyler blends bright, sunny lyrics with bittersweet hooks and minimalist production. It's the sort of music that existed long before news feeds and Twitter updates and will exist long after. Diners finds a distinct voice in the tried and true.

Christina Caldwell

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