The Comforts of<b> Dillinger Four</b>

BY Sam SutherlandPublished Oct 26, 2008

"As corny as it sounds, D4 is a way of life for us. We never stop doing it,” says Paddy Costello, bassist for the long-running Minneapolis pop punk favourites. The band has been silent since touring 2002’s Situationist Comedy, and while no one ever doubted their future, there was speculation about just how long it would take for their fourth album in 14 years.

"Why tell people we’re breaking up when we’re still going to play? It just looks like someone’s mad at someone else,” says Costello. "I mean, we joked that we should have just broken up after all the touring for Situationist Comedy. We knew we weren’t going to be able to tour for at least two years. But we’ve been doing this band forever. Eric [Funk, guitarist and vocalist] and I have been in bands together since we were 15.” After so much time off, the band quickly realized that a return to D4 meant dealing with a few years of built-up expectation.

"I hadn’t really thought about it until I was out with a friend who said, ‘Your record is going to have to be really good or someone’s gonna crucify you.’ I was like, ‘Fuck! Why did we wait six years?’” Thankfully, new effort Civil War is as catchy and as acerbic as anything on the classic Versus God or Midwestern Songs of the Americas, and cements the band’s status as the most relevant, respected pop punk band active today. Just don’t expect them to ever behave like anyone but Dillinger Four.

"We all have jobs we like,” says Costello. "We like to get together and we like to write music. We have yet to make a record we’re embarrassed about. We like our friends, we like our shows. I don’t feel any anxiety, and I don’t feel over zealous. Right now, I just feel like having a drink.”

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