In Print  Home  Directories  Reviews  Get In Touch  Forums  Links  Gig Guide  

The Datsuns: Headstunts

Album number four for the Cambridge quartet and you would have to say that after a couple of less than satisfying albums 'Headstunts' is a major return to form. Self-produced and featuring their new drummer Ben Cole, this album sees the band stick to what they do best. Mercifully short garage rock with hints of power pop full of the trademark stomp, swagger and razor sharp guitar we've come to expect from the band. It's not all hard rocking singalongs however. With the 12 tracks on the album split into two sides like a piece of vinyl it's the songs coming at the end of sides one and two respectively that show a jammy, almost psychedelic side of the band. Side one ends with Eye of the Needle, a song with a moody start that ends up as a slide guitar-styled piece of stoner rock, while side two winds up with the trippy Somebody Better with sonic references to (of all things), The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows. That said, songs such as Cruel Cruel Fate and Your Bones prove that The Datsuns are still writing songs with memorable hooks and great choruses, illustrating how much the band has regained the urgency and fun that made them so potent first time around

Related Information