August 11th, 2014 
Kyle Kohl 
Artist: Dikembe
Album: Mediumship
Genre: Emo, Punk
Dikembe are in a peculiar spot right now; they garnered attention for an EP dedicated to weed and the Chicago Bulls (Chicago Bowls) and now they want to be taken seriously. Three years after smoking “Michael Jordank,” Dikembe hook us up with a completely different product, one that puts previous listeners in potential alienating territory. While the youthful energy and humor that their first EP and LP both contain is likely what got the Gainesville quartet recognized by the emo-revival kids, Mediumship sounds like Dikembe wants you to see them as a serious group, but if you’re worried about the attitude change, you really shouldn’t be.
You will only need to hear about four songs before you think you begin to understand Mediumship, but you’ll soon realize that this album is an enigma. Dikembe really like to play the soft-loud-soft structure on this effort. Honestly, it starts to get really predictable, a little old, and also familiar as Dikembe channel a ton of Brand New on this record. The muted strings followed by quick bursts of throaty yells come off like a Jesse Lacey imitation (which isn’t a knock at anything, I promise).
Though there is some predictability, there are a handful of moments that break your anticipations. An example would be “Mad Frustrated,” where within the track’s four minutes, we get one verse that leads into a post-rock build that climaxes into a drum solo. These songs are awesome for what they are, which is Dikembe progressing into whatever the hell they want to.
Lyrically, songwriter Steven Gray sticks to the dreary and bleak moods on this one, which pairs well with the downtrodden sound. A lot of the lyrics appear to be esoteric and probably mean a lot to Gray, but nothing that a listener can necessarily decode. Tonally, this record deviates away from the fun and catchy math-y riffs that Broad Shoulders had and trades them in for palm-mutes and grungy, ugly chords. Though the occasional peppering of noodly riffs happen, your patience is commanded as they aren’t building songs around them. Putting so much focus on creating an overall sound, this album dedicated such great attention to every instrument. The drums pummel tracks forward as the guitars throw fits of noise.
These days, if Dikembe are still playing in basements, a punk crowd would be confused and probably bored with their latest material. However, if you measure an album’s achievements in sing-along choruses or weed jokes, you probably want to pass this one on and reevaluate things. This sophomore effort is completely ballsy and puts Dikembe in a sort of genreless state somewhere within this punk scene, but overall, Mediumship is a warm welcome to new Dikembe sounds and a solid boundary shove for this “emo revival” era.
SCORE: 7/10
Review written by Kyle Kohl
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