When New Zealand four-piece The Datsuns first emerged, it was with their hearts on their denim sleeves. The greasy licks and sexual energy of their eponymous 2002 debut album marked them out as in thrall to AC/DC, which made their adoption by the garage rock fraternity somewhat puzzling. Classic rock, however, rightly steamrollers over such distinctions, and on their follow-up The Datsuns seem even more firmly entrenched in blues-rooted heavy rock territory.
John Paul Jones produces, but they move from ZZTop-styled boogie (“Messin’ Around”) to the bourbon-stained blues of Chris Bailey (“What I’ve Lost”), diverting via “Hong Kong Fury” for some light relief. A less full-tilt affair than their first effort, then, but no less fun.
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