Most days, I spend more time listening to new music than I do listening to any of my playlists. I hear dozens of emerging artists and debut releases a week, but unfortunately, most of them go in one ear and out the other. It’s like flipping through the used vinyl at the record store; you’re going to go through a lot of 2.99 LPs that the store can’t seem to sell before you find what you’re looking for. But once you find that holy grail, the treasure that makes an entire day of searching through dusty bins and tightly packed milk crates worth it, you get a rush unlike anything else on the planet.
I got my most recent dose of the good stuff from “Restless, Aimless, Brainless” by Dizzy & the Drapes. When I first heard this EP, it struck me as another alt-rock release with a touch of pop-punk to it. It sounded great, but it wasn’t blowing my mind—another entry in a genre that is becoming a little oversaturated. Then I decided to sit down and give this collection a proper listen. You can’t judge a book by its cover, and you can’t judge an EP by a single track. Having now heard “Restless, Aimless, Brainless” all the way through, several times, I have to say it might be my favorite release of 2025. It’s weird and laid back, but every time it sounds like you may be approaching a lull, it pumps the gas and rocks your socks off. It’s a little like a lot of other bands and a lot like something I’ve never heard before. It’s heavy, and funky, and poppy, and jumpy. The only way I feel I can properly cover this EP is with a deep dive, so let’s rip each track apart and try to figure out what it is that’s got me going so wild for this record.
“Restless, Aimless, Brainless” opens with “Head Rush,” which had previously been released as a single back in September. It’s a perfect opener for the album. It has the brass, it has the guitar, the vocals, and the beat. “Head Rush” tells you exactly what to expect from the EP as a whole. It’s like a sampler platter of what’s to come. It blends all the genres that the record consists of into one song, creating something brassy and progressive. The only thing I can think of to compare it to is Supertramp. “Head Rush” has a similar style to the UK prog-rock band. They’re jazzy, something I could hear playing in a club, but still rocking enough to be widely consumable.
The EP takes a turn into garage rock with “Hardest Ones.” This track is carried by a repeating guitar riff, offset by a palm-muted strum. The saxophone and keys slowly come in over the course of verses, building up to choruses where everybody wails. The guitar gets special focus this time, not only being the most prevalent of the instruments but also commanding an absolutely ripping solo. While this song is more contemporary than some of the others, it’s still in a category all its own. I can’t point to a single modern band that could call themselves Dizzy & the Drapes' equals.
Next, “Restless, Aimless, Brainless” plays with funk in “Itch.” This is the kind of pulsing, rhythmic song that’s perfect for cruising around the streets of your nearest metropolitan jungle- it’s as mellow as a menthol. The kind of rolling, bumpy song that makes you want to kick back somewhere dim and smoky, where you can get something cold to drink and listen to the keys and saxophone duel.
The fourth track, “Man in His Prime,” is the first I heard. This is the song that gave me the initial impression that Dizzy & the Drapes are an alt band, which I think was a fair assumption to make because this song is much more alternative than the rest of the album. The keys and saxophone are almost nonexistent here. The song is dominated by bass, drums, and guitar, with the other instruments making guest appearances now and again. I can see this song making a rapid climb up the Billboard 200. It’s well crafted, it has hooks that dig into your brain and don’t let go, and it evolves and morphs over the runtime. I have not heard a song that does progressive rock this well in modern music, period. This kind of songwriting was something I was certain had been lost to the past, but Dizzy & the Drapes do it better than even some of those bands around in the heyday of prog-rock did.
Closing with “Get it Right", this is a large drop in pace from “Man in His Prime,” which helps ease the record to a close. It starts with a fat bass line, which the EP had been drastically lacking up until this point. From there, “Get it Right” is a swaying farewell to the listener, focusing mostly on the keys and sax. It’s the last dance of the night, right after the bartenders shout last call. You can feel the end coming, but you’re not ready yet, so you try to pretend it’s not gaining. All pretenses are shattered, however, when that last peak is hit and the record lets loose its iron grip on you.
By this point, if you haven’t cleared the next hour of your day to listen to “Restless, Aimless, Brainless,” then I’m not sure what else to say to you. This is not a request; it is a demand. Go listen to the EP. It’s all of twenty minutes long, and I personally guarantee that that will no doubt be the best twenty minutes of your day. It’s sure to leave you in the same sorry state as me, watching their socials like a hawk, waiting for them to announce a vinyl release. In the meantime, they have a handful of live recordings you can check out, and if you’re in New York, you can check them out in person. If you’re not in New York, then you can join me in shamelessly stalking their socials for a tour announcement as well.
