Day 2 of the Dewey beach music conference was a really good time i dont remember much of it ...however i remember waking up sunday with no shoes at the side of the hotel......lying on a pile of leaves that some higher power left there for me.......(thanks higher power)
Today....today...i dont feel that great but this too shall pass......go out and buy our cd...yeah thats an order

SOCIALIZING w/LIFE

The Dunes

(Curve Music)

*** 1/2 (out of five)

Give The Dunes this much - they're pretty serious about making a good first impression.

Rather than release their debut indie CD as is and see where the chips fall, the Toronto band polished up and remastered Socializing w/Life. Result? A bigger, better version of an already bad-ass disc. In a crowded field of hot new Toronto bands, they already have a leg up on the competition.

The 10 songs sway nicely from hard rock to heartfelt, with the new production punching up the meaty guitars and Kevin Pullen's spacey voice.

Rowdy beer hall rock like Do It All the Time and Calling All Cars stand out immediately, but the band sounds just as good dialing it down on Hurry Up and the slow dance specialty The Easiest.

Gimmicks still can't beat good tunes and a good game plan.

John Law is an award-winning entertainment writer for the Niagara Falls Review. He can be reached at jlaw@nfreview.com.