At almost the exact halfway point of Dignified Sissy, the vocalist’s narrative about doctors, experiments, quadriplegics, amputees and rioters at a hospital "overrun by bastard whores" escalates and he proclaims, "For a split second, it looks like we're all gonna get out of this alive ... and then all hell breaks loose!" The fictitious doctor shouts out: “Ready the replicas!” over and over alongside a guitar not as frenetic as one might expect, but eerie and hypnotic enough to perfectly match the story.

            The record holds 14 songs, each filled with dank thrills like a Stuart Dybek short-short story. Many of the vignettes feature political diatribes, fan favorite "New National Anthem" being the most prominent example. Amidst clanging post-punk riffs and rhythms, Chris Besinger sings/shouts about "fear, sickness, and paranoia for all," among other promises and dedications.

            "We get political a lot, but that's not really our intention," Besinger explains. "We don't really have a message ... [our songs] could be interpreted that way, and that's fine." The Stnnng has no overarching theme, says Besinger, and sometimes their ideas, while "timely," don't always come across well, he admits.

            This style of raw proclamations shouted, confessions told, and stories sprawled out over music that at first hear sounds incidental and unrelated could remind listeners of the "talking blues." It's not a stretch to consider the Stnnng as another strong voice in a line of those speaking-but-not-quite-singing for the common man and against the system. "I've always liked singers who use natural accents, you can hear flaws in the voice," Besinger acknowledges, but describes himself and his vocals as heavily influenced not by Woody Guthrie or early Bob Dylan, but by Mark E. Smith of the Fall, along with Pere Ubu, Ian MacKaye, and Steve Albini.

            The thrashing ambition in the band's songs may lead listeners to think the Stnnng has grand designs on becoming an Important Rock Band, a Major Voice. For now, though, they’re focused on having a good time as a "good band that writes good songs.

            "If we entertained, great. Our songs may be full of cheesy licks and bullshit, but as long as we enjoy it, then people thinking our music is great is just icing on the cake."

            If nothing else, the Stnnng strives for sincerity, even if it means the occasional spill, confusion, and contradiction. Besinger, perhaps singing as a hipster-like character, confesses in "George Washington": "Irony, I crouch in it. It gives me a place to hide. I’ve never had an honest moment."

            The band writes songs unafraid to tell too much or make the occasional misstep in their exuberance, making for a record both risky and rewarding.