The new Dinosaur Pile-Up album, I’ve Felt Better, is an absolute beast of a record packed with emotion, “straight-up rippers” and stomping pop-punk splattered rock tunes.
Dinosaur Pile-Up frontman, Matt Bigland, was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis in 2021 and has been fighting health battles on and off since, meaning a forced slow-down for the band and delay of their next record. But Dinosaur Pile-Up are roaring back to life, and I’ve Felt Better, followed by their UK and US tours, firmly mark the second coming of this raucously fun alt-rock group.
I’ve Felt Better will be the trio’s fifth studio album, following their previous release in 2019 of Celebrity Mansions, home to the likes of Thrash Metal Cassette and Back Foot. It is 12 songs that draw a line under half a decade of sickness and struggles, and is both a cathartic release and a contender for the best Dinosaur Pile-Up album to date.
I’ve Felt Better, the title of the album, originated from how Matt would answer “how are you” questions, as he said it was easier to minimise to people how awful he actually felt, but that it became more than that. When he first got ill, the craziness of Covid and lockdowns also happened. “It seemed like our society sort of opened its eyes a little bit,” said Matt, “and then I was like, oh, yeah: we’re actually monsters.”
He describes scrolling through social media and going from George Floyd being murdered to seeing the Kardashians having the best time in the world. “And it’s just like, how the fuck am I looking at this stuff right next to each other? It really boggles my mind.
“I was just kind of allergic to life. And I know that probably wasn’t helped by the fact that I was incredibly ill, but all of that sort of melded together. So I’ve Felt Better, even though it started as that get-out clause, it became a sort of mantra of: I’ve felt better physically and mentally, but I’ve also felt better holistically in life.”
Tracks like Big Dogs, Big You And Me, and My Way embody Matt’s desire to never “make a bummer of a record and just moan through the whole thing.” These are tracks to be cranked up at a house party or in the car whilst speeding along highways with your tongue sticking out. Matt’s distinctive vocals toe the line between pop-punk projection and rage rock outbursts, and he demonstrates particular versatility in the barking vocals for Big Dogs.
But even the songs that really touch upon how frustrated he felt, how utterly horrific his years in and out of hospital were, never become mere emotional outlets or “moaning”. The opening single, ‘Bout To Lose It, has it all. The intro riffs sandwiched around Matt’s frenzied vocals are a sonic personification of boiling over with rage, followed by the inevitable emotional exhaustion as the pace slows, the key goes minor, and the drumming becomes a caress.
It is a rollercoaster in tempo and musical expectations, and sets the bar for I’ve Felt Better somewhere in the realm of: I’m not ready for the level of obsession for Dinosaur Pile-Up I will soon be feeling. 
When choosing what songs to put on an album, Matt said he has always had the same process: “If I were to die tomorrow, what songs would I be like, fuck, I wish I had released that song in the world. Obviously, this record was weird because it sort of was that situation. Like, I actually might. But I think that artistically, that’s a really good way to pick songs, make albums, and also just operate as a creative person.”
Heartbreak and love also run a line through the entire album. Love’s The Worst beautifully encapsulates the pain of heartbreak, with dialled-back melodies and soft drumming paving the way for the flared-up chorus that slams on like eruptions of grief just as you were starting to rationalise calmly. But in Punk Kiss, Sunflower, and Quasimodo Lemonheart, we have the journey to love with Matt’s now wife, punk singer Karen Dió, whose vocals feature on the latter track.
I’ve Felt Better opens a window into the past five years of pain, frustration, and love, but maintains a universal relatability that will make it a companion to countless heartbreaks and the soundtrack to many glorious days.
I’ve Felt Better is out on 22 August via Mascot Records. Read the full interview with Matt Bigland of Dinosaur Pile-Up below:
