Six years hath passed since the last release action from NewZild's most noted crafters of classic rock. A lengthy period of quiet has been broken, with a stash of fresh riffing & renewed wailing. What change might have come to bear in a half dozen years? Is the DATSUN tribe more world weary, more savvy, more learned...? Is all this on evidence in the capturing of the newly birthed sonic heft and hooks? Have these geezers still got what it takes?
The exhibit - Album No.7 - "Eye to Eye". The stylistic grasp of these 11 tunes wrap 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 boogie power chord-age, in a manner not dissimilar to the production shenanigans Josh Homme (that QOTSA fella) applies to his various projects. Has Datsun vocal main man Dolf de Borst always come across like some bastard offspring of Marc Bolan and Alice Cooper? There's some otherworldly fantastical floating folk glam vocal melodies wafting in & out of this selection of tracks. And the Cooper sneer & snarl rears its head, in those tunes of a more heart pounding nature... The guitar effects and greater keyboard dosage have peppered this clutch of new tunes with more flavours on the menu. Lest us not ferget the master of the cabin fever mongrel pedal electronic mechanics, and frequently featured lead Datsun instrumentalist, Christian Livingstone. It can be imagined the man has been labouring intently, in a wintry lock downed Northern hemisphere, fine tuning freaked fuzz frequencies, sci-fi squeal & spazz, and a host of other soaring dogfighting & dive-bombing tones, fer the instrumental breaks and beds for this album. The inherent rok dramatics and attack are the responsibilities Mr Livingstone bears. The dynamics and tempo rest in the mitts of them other Datsun three. "Windmill" Phil Somervell gets to bring his rhythmic geetar chops & noted arm flailin', to underscore the light & shade of the riffage, knowing whens to slash or slug, pinch or punch. Ben "Poundin' Soul" Cole machine guns the rolls, and hits the timing twists & turns when required. Master de Borst locks in his bass walkin', & talkin', stuttering & strutting w/his fellow rhythm men.. An album entrenched in the past, remodelled for the future, one unknown & uncertain more than ever.