New Song Of The Day: The Datsuns – Dehumanise

0

Up and at ’em! We’ve got a new tune from The Datsuns to get your motor running on this Sunday morning.

That’s right, Dolf and the boys are back with Dehumanise, the third song from their up coming album, Eye To Eye. Check out the record company blurb for more info:

‘Dehumanise’ is the third single to be released from the forthcoming album EYE TO EYE from New Zealand’s Lords of Loud, The Datsuns. Released digitally and on limited edition 7″ single, the set-to-stun dystopian riff rocker is accompanied by the dramatic non-LP B-side “Negative Swing”

Emotions railing against the system. A homogenous future, devoid of the very thing that makes man, man. Freedom & individualism are outcast. The here & now is a seething, twisted mass. The Datsuns strap those feelings to some rock & roll. “Dehumanise” is stomping three chord-age, dive bombing stun gun lead, a bed of surging Hammond keys, stair tumbling stop/start riddims. Key tinkling, fat fuzz wah & squeal.

“Dehumanise is another Sci-Fi inspired number, about being literally stripped down to your utilitarian parts by the machines and machinations around you. The main parts were written on tour, opening for Graveyard in Europe some years back. I was listening to a ton of heavy 70’s rarities at the time, sampling their drum intros in Garageband to make demos. This one features more custom fuzz guitar FX courtesy of Christian and also my first attempt at a synth solo, wild!” – Dolf Datsun

Seven years hath passed since the last release action from NewZild‘s most noted crafters of classic (as in some of sort of ‘70s-inspired grunge-metal meets garage) rock. And two whole decades are done and dusted since they took the Northern hemisphere by storm, leading the back-to-rock charge at the beginning of the millennium alongside The White Stripes and The Hives. That was when they scored a Peel Session and an NME cover; when they toured Europe and the States and headed back to hit Aus & NZ for the Big Day Out; when they played the main stage at Ozzfest and toured with Metallica. And while time has not stood still, it hasn’t slowed them down either – The Datsuns are now making the best music they’ve ever made.

Due May 28 on Hellsquad through MGM, and released on LP, CD and digital formats, forthcoming seventh album EYE TO EYE has a varied stylistic grasp across its 11 tunes. It wraps the locomotive chug of classic Ian Gillan/Ritchie Blackmore-helmed Deep Purple – seasoned nicely with generous servings of Jon Lord keyboard surge – to some updated glam space boogie power chordage. There there are some otherworldly fantastical floating melodies wafting in & out, and the guitar effects and greater keyboard dosage pepper the tunes with new flavours. Let us not forget the contribution here of lead Datsun instrumentalist, Christian Livingstone, who has laboured intently, fine-tuning freaked fuzz frequencies and space-age squeal and a host of other soaring dogfighting & dive-bombing tones, for the instrumental breaks and beds of the album. If the tone and attack are the primary responsibilities Mr Livingstone bears, the dynamics and tempo rest in the mitts of them other Datsun three. Guitarist “Windmill” Phil Somervell brings his rhythmic chops & noted arm flailin’, to underscore the light & shade of the riffage; Ben “Poundin’ Soul” Cole machine guns the rolls, and hits the timing twists & turns when required; Master Dolf de Borst locks in his bass walkin’, & talkin’, stuttering & strutting preposterously on cue.

The Datsuns were always more over-the-top than their new millenium rock contemporaries. And less gimmicky. They came from a heavier place;  heavy in the early ‘70s use of the term, but with a garage-rock rawness and a punk-inspired energy and pace. Heavy music of course has never stayed fashionable for lengthy periods, and The Datsuns paid the price; after smashing it with their self-titled first album, the fickle tastemakers of the time decided that their second album – produced by Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones no less, and in many ways anticipating Jones’ return to rock alongside Josh Homme and Dave Grohl in Them Crooked Vultures – was just so much more old hat. They duly retreated from the limelight as new trends emerged, but they never gave it up. More albums followed, and more tours. Tours of New Zealand. Tours of Japan. Tours of Europe. All managed despite beingspread across hemispheres, with front man Dolf de Borst an honorary Swede (and also a member of both the legendary action rock trailblazers The Hellacopters and  Hellacopters’ power pop rock spin-off Imperial State Electric), and guitarist Christian Livingstone living in London and making guitar FX pedals.

Having stuck it out through the leans times, The Datsuns return to the fray now as new variations on their preferred themes of heavy music – new forms of garage, psych and metal, and cross-pollinations of the lot –  have established new audiences.

Over the last couple of months,  “Brain to Brain” and “Suspicion” were the first two  treats to be unveiled from The Datsuns’ forthcoming new album EYE TO EYE. An electrifying sci-f rocker, “Brain to Brain” signaled a new level of intenrsity and intelligence for the group,  and the video was equally arresting. Shot remotely through the lock down by NZ director Marc Swadel (who now resides in London, who has worked with The Chemical Brothers, Stone Roses, Sparks, and Thurston Moore), the video is styled after a 70’s science documentary-type film and features London-based singer/DJ/model Iraina Mancini getting a input jack implanted in her skull so she can get Dr de Borst‘s electrifying riffage DI’ed direct into her brain…

(Marc Swadel relays “‘Brain to Brain’ is a great stonking rock track – with a classic 70’s vibe. “So I had the idea of making a crazy 70’s style science documentary film – complete with loud clothing and dodgy experiment footage, a scuzzy old school feel, and in-camera effects. I am really happy with it – You would never know that the band were all over the world under lockdown and never in the same room for this video. And it rocks!”)

 

Marty Duda
Latest posts by Marty Duda (see all)