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Dyniss' own description of his music goes something like this: "quirky power-folk music—sometimes political, sometimes dreamy, sometimes weird." That's fairly apt, but lest you think those three adjectives—political, dreamy, weird—mean this is some sort of sappy hippie music, rest assured that it is not. It's excellent Modern Rock/Indie Pop that throws in the occasional quirk to make sure we're paying attention. The style is
reminiscent at times of bands like The Chills, The Connells, The Posies, and The La's—but Dyniss brings his own fresh, unique spin into the mix. The CD opens with the shimmering "All the People," a hauntingly cool song. "Less than Me (v.2.0)," with its soaring, harmonized vocals could easily be a hit in today's modern musical world (if that world had any sense beyond pre-packaged plastic personalities). "Arms Around Me" and
"Paper Page" are bouncy bits of pop music that just feel good to listen to. The title track to "The Green Anthem" fits into both the political and dreamy categories, an excellent presentation of how things could be good in the future. (The song is so good, in fact, that it was Canada's official Y2K Green Party song.) On "Dear Dog," Dyniss offers a clever send-up of XTC's "Dear God." In XTC's masterpiece, the failings of religion are the target, but here the song is more about seeing grace, goodness, and godliness in all
things—in particular, the dog. "Naturus Interruptus" makes it's point amusically—can you figure out the message? The Green Anthem presents an excellent blend of message and melody, of pique and pop. It's ironic that justice in the world is one of Dyniss' themes, because the fact that this talented musician is not a big star makes it obvious that the Universe prefers irony to justice. You, however, can pass on the cosmic irony, sit back, and enjoy the excellence of The Green Anthem.
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